Billowing Dreams Bloom
On a bright spring day, I found myself standing on the street after heading out for some fieldwork. The warm sunlight felt pleasant against my skin. Hmm... I've got some time before my next client meeting. Might as well have a smoke.
I glanced around, searching for a smoking area. Tucked beside a cluster of bars and restaurants in the bustling district stood a single container-style smoking booth. I stepped inside, leaned against the wall, and lit a cigarette. These booths are rarely this clean... Whoever manages it does a good job.
Back when I used to work part-time jobs, I once had to clean one of these booths. No matter how hard I tried, I could never get all the cigarette ash out from between the floor panels. How did they manage it...?
Just then, someone entered the booth. I paid them no mind and continued smoking while staring at the floor.
"Huh...? Kang Dae-geun?"
A voice called my name. I looked up. The man was large, completely bald, wearing black sunglasses, with noticeably sharper canines than a normal human when he smiled. He was dressed in a black suit. His face seemed familiar somehow.
Ah! "Baldy!!"
The nickname of my yokai friend from high school—an Onyudo—popped into my head. His name was Kim Chan-jung. Because Onyudo don't grow hair, everyone called him Baldy.
"Whoa!! You remember me? Prince Ji!!"
He called me by my old high school nickname. It was a little embarrassing, so the moment he said it I quickly looked around to check if anyone was nearby.
"That nickname's kind of embarrassing out in public..."
"Hahaha! Sorry, sorry! I was just happy to see you!"
Looking at Chan-jung's face brought back vivid memories of our high school days. Back then, he and I were nothing like the adults we were now—just a couple of reckless, immature high school boys. Not delinquents, exactly, but the type of playful, thoughtless kids you find one or two of in every class.
"Hey, Prince Ji!! Let's hit the school store!"
"You crazy bastard, why are you yelling so loud?"
Ever since he caught me naked in the shower during our first-year retreat, Chan-jung had kept calling me that. In a co-ed school, having—and using—that kind of nickname was mortifying, but he never seemed to care.
Chan-jung always dragged me to the school store after lunch to buy hamburgers as "dessert."
"Baldy, you just ate lunch. Where does all that food even go?"
"Kahaha!! Onyudo can freely change their body size! We burn calories like crazy, so we gotta eat a lot!!"
His booming laughter echoed through the air. That's how we spent every lunch break—munching on snacks in front of the store and talking about nothing in particular.
"Dae-geun, you hear about this? They're building something behind the market in our neighborhood. Word is a yokai brothel's going in."
"Eh, really...?"
"Yeah! That's why they put up those 'No Minors Allowed' signs."
"Whoa... damn, I'm jealous. Once you're an adult with money, you can just walk right in... I'm saving up my allowance so I can go the second I turn eighteen next year."
Our conversations usually revolved around girls, games, and—most of all at that age—the yokai brothels we were all obsessed with.
"By the way, what are you gonna do when you grow up, Dae-geun?"
"I dunno... Probably just go to college like normal and get a job...?"
"Kk, that's so boring."
"What about you, you bald bastard? What are you gonna do?"
Chan-jung shoved the last of his hamburger into his mouth, swallowed, then puffed out his chest and declared proudly, "I'm gonna travel to every single yokai brothel in the world. I'll bulk up my body and make every girl in those places cry!"
I burst out laughing at such an unrealistic goal. "Pfft!! At least try to be realistic!!"
"What? It's plenty realistic! You have to come with me!! With that Prince Ji of yours, you could conquer the world!"
"Bullshit... I'll just work at a company, make money, and visit yokai brothels on the side."
"See? In the end, it's still about yokai brothels!!"
Those old conversations floated up in my mind. The things we'd said back when we were young and stupid were embarrassing to recall now, but they were also precious memories.
Come to think of it... I'm living exactly the way I said I would back then, aren't I? I remembered telling him I'd work at a company and visit yokai brothels. A small laugh escaped me. In the end, I really did pull it off.
I looked up at the grown-up Chan-jung and asked, "What are you doing these days?"
Chan-jung adjusted his slightly slipped sunglasses, straightened his black suit, and answered, "I'm a boss now!"
"Eh?"
He was wearing a black suit, but he looked less like a salaryman and more like some kind of thug. The sunglasses only made him seem more delinquent-like.
"...You mean like a gang boss?"
"No, you idiot!!"
Like a character from a comic, he protested my words, then fixed his clothes again and struck a confident pose. "I run a yokai brothel!!!"
Of course it came back to yokai brothels. Nothing had changed since we were kids... I couldn't help but laugh.
"Why are you laughing?"
"It's just... you're exactly the same as back then. Compared to you, I'm..."
I glanced at my reflection in the mirror hanging on the booth wall. The man staring back was just an ordinary office worker worn down by reality, overtime, and money. Still...
I turned back to Chan-jung, gave him a thumbs-up, and smiled. "But I do visit yokai brothels a lot!!"
He stared at me blankly for a moment before bursting into laughter. Then he clapped a massive hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah!! That's good enough! Remember what we said when we were kids? That we'd hit up yokai brothels like crazy once we grew up?"
Chan-jung pulled something from his inside pocket and handed it to me. It was a business card.
"Oh... you really did become a boss."
"Hey, do you go to yokai brothels often?"
I thought about it for a second. Did I go often? Well, if I called it a hobby, then yeah, I probably went pretty frequently.
"Yeah, I go pretty often."
"Haha!! I knew it. You pervert!! Then how about coming by my place later? We've got some new girls. If you've been around a lot, you could give them some advice. I've been focused on running the place, so I don't really know what customers are thinking..."
I checked the time. It was still early. The client I had to visit next was my last one, so stopping by after work seemed fine.
"Sure. I'll swing by after I finish work."
"Nice!! Thanks!!"
A little while later, after finishing up at my final client, I arrived at the address written on the card Chan-jung had given me. The sun hadn't set yet—it was still afternoon.
When I opened the door to Chan-jung's shop, he greeted me from behind the counter, chin resting on his hand with a serious expression.
"Whoa~ You actually look like a boss..."
"Because I am one. But isn't it a bit early? No one's even come in yet..."
Now that he mentioned it, the shop was completely empty and quiet as a mouse.
"Well... I'm just here to give advice, so you can write it down and use it for training the new girls."
We sat in the lobby and talked for a long time. There wasn't much actual advice to give about the new girls—most of our conversation was just catching up on each other's lives.
"Anyway, it's best to use each yokai's unique traits in the service. Even if the technique isn't great, it can still be a fresh experience. Especially for humans like me."
Chan-jung closed the notebook he'd been writing in and stretched with a groan. "Augh~ Why is running a business so hard...? I should've visited more places when I had the chance."
Watching him complain while stretching made me laugh. "I mean, you were the one who said you'd travel to every yokai brothel in the world once you grew up. How did you end up like this?"
"Kahaha, where would I find the time to travel? I gotta work to eat~"
We were still chatting when the automatic glass door slid open. Through the gap, pure white smoke slowly billowed into the shop. The smoke spread across the floor, expanding outward.
Then, from within the smoke, a pale face gradually emerged. Or rather, it looked more like the smoke itself was shaping into a face.
"Hellooo~ I'm here for work~"
A soft, languid voice came from the face in the smoke, perfectly matching the flowing white tendrils. Once the door closed, her entire smoke-formed body had entered the shop and taken shape. The billowing smoke transformed into long straight hair, a glamorous bust and hips, and finally settled into the form of a white one-piece dress.
"Ah, this is our new girl. Enraenra Ha-yeon. Ha-yeon, this is my high school classmate. I mentioned him before, right?"
"Ah..."
Ha-yeon greeted me, but the whole time she seemed oddly conscious of my presence. Ah... I could already imagine what this guy had been saying about me. He'd definitely been running around calling me Prince Ji or something.
"Haha... Hello."
After our awkward greeting, she didn't head to the waiting room. Instead, she just stood there in front of us, like she had something to say.
Chan-jung noticed her expression and grinned mischievously. "Ah!! Ha-yeon, why don't you get some guidance from this friend here?"
"What?!"
Chan-jung winked at me over the top of his sunglasses. Ha-yeon lowered her head, embarrassed.
"No no, I'm not really good at giving guidance..."
Chan-jung leaned in and whispered, "Come on~ Just do it once. Tell her what felt good and what didn't. That's all. Ha-yeon's heard a lot about you, so she's probably looking forward to it."
"Still... even so..."
I looked at her. Ha-yeon met my eyes for a moment before quickly looking down again.
"Um... please, if you could..."
When she bowed her head while asking, her smoke-formed cleavage swayed. Well... I'd never been with an Enraenra before...
"Then... I'll do it."
"That's the spirit! Ha-yeon, go get ready."
Ha-yeon headed into the back waiting room. Chan-jung stood up, went into the manager's office behind the counter, spoke with someone briefly, then came out carrying his bag.
"Alright, have a good time. I'm heading home~!"
"Eh? You're leaving?"
"Of course! I don't want to see your satisfied face after you've had your fun. I already told the counter staff, so just follow their guidance~ Come again next time!"
Chan-jung disappeared through the automatic door. Just then, someone spoke from behind me.
"Um... I'm ready... Shall we go?"
I followed her down the hallway. Ha-yeon moved as if floating, her legs not visible. Soon, we were sitting on the bed together in robes. Of course, since Ha-yeon was made of smoke, she didn't need to wash and couldn't wear a real robe, so she'd shaped her smoke into something resembling the one I wore.
"Um... please take care of me..."
She spoke in a nervous voice.
"Ah... yes... This isn't your first time, right...?"
She nodded slightly. "No... I've done it about twice, but both customers didn't seem very satisfied..."
Contrary to what I'd expected, she actually had her own concerns. I'd thought Chan-jung had told her weird stories and she'd just been curious to try. In that case, I needed to take this a bit more seriously...
"Then... do you have any idea what the problem might be?"
"Ah... well..."
Without another word, Ha-yeon reached out. Her pale, fluffy hand slowly approached and touched my chest. Or rather, tried to. The moment it made contact, her hand crumbled apart and dispersed into the air.
Ah, so that was the issue... Her body had no tactile sensation. All I felt was a coolness and the sensation of wind brushing past. She wrapped her arms around me fully. Even then, all I felt was a refreshing coolness. This was going to be difficult...
"For now... shall we keep going...?"
After saying that, I gently removed my robe, leaving myself naked. Ha-yeon enveloped my entire body with hers. A cool sensation spread across my skin. Huh...? This actually wasn't bad... But without direct tactile feedback, the stimulation was still lacking.
She earnestly caressed my member, sometimes taking it into her mouth, but I felt nothing against the hazy outline of my shaft within the white smoke. The meaningless caresses continued for a while. Even when the cool sensation brought me to partial erection, the lack of further stimulation caused it to fade again, and we made no progress toward actual sex.
"Ha-yeon? You seem tired. Shall we take a break...?"
"Ah... yes..."
She looked even more dejected than before. Ah... it felt like a waste to end things like this...
"Come to think of it, how do Enraenra have children in this form?"
I thought it was a rather sharp question. If I could learn that, maybe it would give me a clue to solve this.
"Ah... well... Enraenra mix their bodies with each other, but when having children with other species, we take a special medicine made with yokai techniques. But that medicine doesn't provide contraception, so if it's not a safe day, we might get pregnant."
"Oh... I see... Then what about holding objects?"
"We can hold objects, but we can't hold living beings..."
"Ah..."
Wrong. That information wasn't helpful at all. What now...? My head was starting to throb. I'd been thinking too hard with no direction. I pulled a cigarette from the inside pocket of my suit hanging on the wall and put it in my mouth.
"Ah, I'll just have one smoke."
"Ah... yes..."
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I lit the cigarette. I took a deep drag and exhaled the smoke. It curled upward in soft plumes. At that moment, Ha-yeon inhaled the smoke I'd just exhaled. As it entered her body, it merged with her.
"Oh~ You can do that too?"
"Ah!! I'm sorry... It's a habit..."
"No, it's fine. I've never seen that before, so it was interesting... Do you absorb cigarette smoke or any kind of burning smoke?"
I deliberately exhaled in a direction that would make it easy for her to absorb the smoke while asking. Ha-yeon inhaled my exhaled smoke and answered.
"Absorbing it is like nutritional supplementation for us... Of course, it's not just smoke—we can absorb anything smoke-like. Steam, or if we could fly in the sky, even clouds."
"Ooh~ I see..."
In that instant, an idea flashed through my mind. This... maybe...?
"When you absorb smoke or steam, what happens to it?"
"It becomes part of my body, but after some time it returns to its original state."
This was it!
A little while later, I sat alone on the bed, listening to the sound of water gushing from the shower in the bathroom as I waited for Ha-yeon. After quite some time, the bathroom door finally opened. An enormous amount of steam poured out, pushing the door open. And Ha-yeon emerged, drawing all of that steam with her.
"Sorry to keep you waiting...?"
Her body had grown large enough to fill the entire room. Her chest, hips, and buttocks had all become correspondingly fuller.
"Now, please do as I explained earlier."
"Yes."
The steam that had filled the room began to shrink. Or rather, it was gathering into one place. The collected steam gradually took on her body shape, shrinking until it finally condensed back to normal human size. Her now-smaller body had become much whiter than before due to the increased density of the steam.
"Are you okay? Are you tired?"
"No. Other than feeling a bit heavier, I'm fine."
"Alright, then as I explained earlier..."
She wrapped herself around my lower body just like before. Other than being damp, it didn't feel much different from earlier.
"Th-then... like this..."
She closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment. Finally, I began to feel sensation on my lower body. It was a damp, soft, jelly-like texture. Looking at her face, I said, "Success!"
"Ah!!"
A smile spread across her face. It was the first time I'd seen her smile since we'd started, even though quite a bit of time had passed. Using her Enraenra ability, she'd absorbed a large amount of steam, compressed it into one place, and increased its density until it reached a water-like state.
"Ha-yeon, are you okay? Can you feel anything?"
"Ah... I can feel things even in my normal smoke state, so..."
Ah... so it didn't matter for Enraenra...
"Then now... ahh!! Ang!"
She let out a suggestive moan and began moving her lower body. Her smoke-like form billowed around my lower body, stimulating my shaft. The densely compressed steam caressed my length with a jelly-like sensation. The stimulation wasn't intense, but it was a new kind of sensation nonetheless. It wasn't water, but the cool, damp feeling similar to it excited me.
"You've been holding back a lot until now, haven't you? I'm sorry~ Now you can enjoy yourself as much as you want."
Ha-yeon leaned close to my ear and whispered. Her breath, heavy with steam, entered my ear.
"Ugh!!!"
Unable to endure the unfamiliar new sensation, I came almost immediately. The repeated teasing without full stimulation had probably made me finish even faster. My semen passed through her and spilled onto my thighs and the bed.
"Ah... I can't catch this part, it seems."
"Did you enjoy it?"
"Yes, very much."
"I'm glad."
Ha-yeon smiled brightly. Seeing that smile, I recovered almost instantly.
"Oh my? You're quite healthy... We can go again, right?"
"Of course."
And so we made love several more times. We'd found a solution, but since I still couldn't actually touch her, I couldn't take the lead. However, the more we did it, the faster her technique improved, and her quick understanding allowed her to apply her own abilities creatively.
"Ha-yeon, you learn very quickly."
After we finished, I sat on the edge of the bed catching my breath and spoke. From behind me came Ha-yeon's soft laughter.
"It's all thanks to your good guidance. And this is..."
Suddenly, Ha-yeon approached my face. Then she kissed me. Other than a moist sensation, I felt nothing on my lips. It seemed that after so much time, her steam-absorbed body was gradually returning to normal. At that moment, she blew her breath into my mouth. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say she entered my mouth. Once inside, she stirred around thoroughly before sliding down my throat. She filled my lungs completely. I could taste and smell her in my mouth and throat. It felt just like smoking a cigarette. I exhaled deeply. She poured out of my mouth like cigarette smoke.
"How is it? I was thinking in the shower earlier—this must be a real smoke kiss, right?"
Seeing her much more cheerful than when we'd first met made me smile. She really was trying hard...
"It's nice? I think smokers would love it."
Ha-yeon had worked hard to do the job she wanted and had struggled to overcome her shortcomings. She'd even come up with her own signature technique. Watching her, I was reminded of myself and my friends dreaming about our futures when we were young. Some wanted to become prosecutors, others wanted to run businesses. Some dreamed of becoming manga artists, others novelists. Back then, they'd all worked hard and agonized over their dreams. Even if they weren't doing exactly what they'd dreamed of now, those who had dreamed back then were probably still working hard and thinking deeply, just like before.