How Lilies turn Black

Author: Nikss

The hallway had clearly been empty just moments ago.

She hadn’t heard the sound of the man opening the office door, let alone his footsteps.

But the presence that covered the back of her hand and closed the door again wasn’t a ghost.

“This is an unused storage room. The restroom is the third door on the right,” he whispered in a voice full of amusement.

Her attempt to open the door was instantly thwarted, and Lilia turned around, even hiccuping in surprise.

“…Hic!”

“Huh?”

“S-sorry. I must’ve, hic! lost my mind.”

“Hahaha!”

The man suddenly burst into laughter, covering his mouth.

“What, were you doing something bad and got caught? How scared do you have to be to start hiccuping?”

“It’s just, hoo… hic!”

Her cheeks burned so hot they felt like they were on fire. Lilia quickly lowered her head and stepped away from the man’s shadow enveloping her.

A predator’s smile clung to her silhouette as she stumbled backward.

“You know where it is this time, right? Over there, that door.”

“Yes, uh…”

“I’ll prepare a glass of water for you, so go ahead.”

His voice and tone were soft, almost teasing, as if he were joking. He even kindly pointed toward the restroom, smiling warmly.

That exaggerated fake kindness felt suffocating. Her flushed cheeks turned pale in an instant, and Lilia bolted to the restroom without looking back.

‘What on earth…!’

As soon as she closed the door and leaned against the cold tile wall, the breath she’d been holding finally escaped.

While clutching her chest and trying to calm her breathing, she faintly heard the sound of a door closing outside.

The man was probably chuckling to himself before heading back to his office. Only then did she slump down in relief.

He had been as elusive as the first time she’d met him. How had he managed to follow her so quietly again? Her hair stood on end.

‘I should’ve checked all the rooms on the second floor… Was I too hasty?’

Lilia blamed herself for her carelessness, pressing her hand to her forehead. She could only hope he hadn’t seen her from the very beginning.

‘Whatever. What’s done is done.’

Since nothing major had happened, she decided to let it go for now, counting it as a relief. She brushed back her disheveled hair and stood up.

The small restroom was, as expected, horrifically dirty—enough to make her nauseous.

But that hadn’t been important from the start. She hadn’t come here to use the restroom in the first place.

No matter how she thought about it, the man who claimed to be Silvano’s secretary was suspicious.

It wasn’t for any obvious reason. She couldn’t quite explain it herself, but something about him felt off.

Was it intuition, or was it just his unsettling demeanor that made him seem untrustworthy? She couldn’t tell.

‘First… I need to check whether he lied to me or not.’

Lilia cautiously inspected every corner of the filthy restroom she didn’t even want to touch.

A few half-used razors, rusted and lying on the sink, along with various toiletries scattered across the floor and shelves.

The most outrageous was the sight of discarded underwear stuffed among the mess.

“Ugh…”

It seemed the man hadn’t lied. Silvano really must have been living here.

Lilia crouched down, picking up and examining shaving cream, body wash, and other bathroom products to see if there was anything unusual.

Then, by pure coincidence, a can caught on her collar, causing the items beside it to tumble over.

Crash!

And by another coincidence, she witnessed a thick liquid spilling out from one of the open containers.

“Huh…?!”

Like a thief caught red-handed, Lilia froze mid-action as she hurriedly tried to tidy up the mess.

The pale pink liquid was soaking into the grimy floor, its color eerily reminiscent of blood diluted with water.

Her trembling fingers reached toward the bathroom floor. With her heart pounding, she swiped her index finger through the liquid.

And when she caught the scent lingering on her reddish fingertip—

“…!”

Lilia’s pupils dilated in shock.

She had thought Silvano might be even crazier than she’d heard, collecting something like blood, but…

‘This… it’s the scent of that man’s shampoo.’

The man who had approached her several times—every time he got close, that faint scent had lingered.

And now, the same smell was coming from this sticky liquid.

Maybe he had showered here. His comment about not using the restroom might have just been a throwaway joke.

But Lilia couldn’t shake off another assumption dominating her thoughts.

Could it be…?

‘Silvano. Are you lying to me?’

A hollow sigh escaped her lips.

This was no laughing matter. If it really was Silvano, she had almost fallen for an Oscar-worthy performance of shamelessness.

‘No wonder something felt off… Could his true identity really be this?’

Lilia twisted her lips into a bitter smile, just like the man had earlier.

He might have had his reasons for doing all this, but that was his problem, not hers.

‘This is really not funny.’

Still, if her guess was correct, it was a good thing.

She wouldn’t have to search for him from afar or wait endlessly. All she had to do was stay put right here.

In the dimly lit restroom with one light out, her dark eyes glinted with a sharp, clear light.

Now, there was only one thing left to do.

Wait quietly for the moment he would reveal his true, dark intentions.

After returning from the restroom, Lilia sat silently in her seat, biding her time. She didn’t do anything suspicious, like snooping around the room or investigating the restroom further.

The drink he took out from the fridge seemed to be at least three years past its expiration date, so she politely declined and passed the time drinking only water.

She didn’t look at the magazines. It was too embarrassing to bear. Instead, she distracted herself by solving puzzles in an old newspaper.

And so, each boring minute and second flowed by, one after another…

The sun set, and the night deepened.

✨

The office was quiet except for the murmuring sound of the TV.

What time could it be now? With only a broken clock in the room, there was no way to check the time.

Lilia looked out the window, but even that wasn’t much help.

Outside the window, between the curtains left open for ventilation, was nothing but pitch-black darkness. All she could tell was that it was very late.

Lilia stretched her stiff body and glanced at the man.

He had his legs propped up on the desk, watching a horse racing program, not a hint of vigilance in his demeanor.

But how strange.

“Aren’t you tired? Shouldn’t you be heading back soon?”

As if he had eyes on the back of his head, or perhaps he had all his nerves focused on her, his voice chimed in immediately.

He was definitely aware of her, even while pretending not to be. It had been like this the whole time.

The subtle glances she felt. Then, when she turned her head, he would smile silently or casually ask if she was uncomfortable before moving on.

How long did he plan to keep this up? By now, her patience was nearing its limit, and Lilia replied in a slightly irritated tone.

“I should head back soon. It seems he’s not coming after all.”

“Yeah, well… that’s life.”

Well, it was just something I said. There’s no way I would come back, right?

When she remained silent and sat still, it seemed like she was disheartened, and only then did the man’s face show a hint of pity.

Of course, it was impossible to tell whether it was genuine or not.

“What should I do? There’s not much I can do to help.”

“It’s okay. I think I have a rough idea of where she might be… It should be fine to head back to the city today. I need to find a place to stay before it gets too late.”

“You think you know? I don’t even know.”

I could feel him desperately holding back his laughter.

“Ah, well… Good luck. If you do find him, please bring him back here.”

The insincere encouragement didn’t even make me angry anymore. Was this man the only one who talked like this?

Theodoro also had a remarkable talent for getting under people’s skin.

‘Perhaps I had developed some immunity’, as Lilia got up with a calm expression and folded the blanket.

“I’m sorry for imposing on you today. I really appreciate your concern.”

“Are you just going to leave? Wait a moment.”

I heard the sound of a liquor bottle being placed on the table.

As the noisy sounds continued, Lilia turned around to see the man stuffing various odds and ends into his pocket.

“Let’s go.”

“…Where?”

“If you need to find a place to stay, I’ll take you to a place I know. I’m heading home anyway.”

This man, who had been hiding his true self all along, suddenly?

Of course, it was what I had hoped for. I had casually mentioned that I had a rough idea of his location and that it would be okay to go back, hoping to provoke some reaction.

But when he actually took the bait, Lilia was flustered.

To be a bit more honest, behind that confusion, there was also a bit of fear.

The wall that had been protecting her like thin glass now seemed like it was about to shatter.

Even though Lilia knew that the man would follow her no matter what she said, she pointed to the liquor bottle he had put down.

“…You’ve been drinking, haven’t you?”

The man also turned his body in a circle, and upon seeing what she was pointing at, he let out a soft chuckle.

“Ah, that?”

“…”

“That’s not alcohol. It’s a drink.”

His eyes curved like crescent moons, taking on a peculiar expression.

Indeed, what threat could a remark about the alcohol he had just poured down his throat possibly pose to him?

The sturdy man began to take steps toward the delicate woman, who looked like she might collapse if he so much as tapped her.