The sound of a mop sliding across the marble floor echoed through the long corridor.
Swish… swish…
The neon lights overhead illuminated the empty space, revealing nothing but the reflection of a young girl's face on the wet, gleaming floor.
Her name is Eliana.
A Cleaning service in the building where she worked.
twenty years old, still on duty that night even though the clock's hands were nearly touching nine.
"Phew… this floor could pass as a mirror. If a big boss walked by, they should really give me a bonus," Eliana muttered, staring at her tired reflection.
She paused for a moment, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. Her shoulder-length black hair had slipped free from its loose tie, a few strands clinging to her cheeks, flushed with exhaustion.
Eliana wasn't the type to give up easily. Even though the work was heavy, the pay was small, and her time was often swallowed by that grand office building, she always tried to finish her tasks neatly.
After all, who else would care if not herself?
"Working hard isn't a guarantee you'll be appreciated… but at least this floor can't complain when I clean it," she continued, letting out a small laugh at herself.
The building she worked in was one of the largest office buildings in the city.
Nineteen floors tall, glass walls that sparkled during the day, and lights that never truly went out at night. The office workers had long since gone home, leaving Eliana alone on the silent nineteenth floor.
Her routine was simple: mopping floors, wiping glass, taking out the trash, checking the toilets. Work that rarely caught anyone's attention but without it, the building would be filled with dust, stains, and unpleasant smells.
Sometimes she thought her job was a lot like herself never truly seen, yet quietly keeping everything in balance.
"If I went on strike for just one day, those office workers would lose it when they saw dirty floors. But if I work hard every single day, they won't even notice." Eliana let out a long sigh. "Pretty ironic, huh?"
She swung the mop again, this time with exaggerated flair, as if the long wooden handle were a spear or a sword.
"Take this, dust monsters! I, Eliana the Mop Knight, will not allow you to conquer the world!" she declared dramatically, then snorted in amusement at herself.
Her reflection on the floor looked like a warrior straight out of her imagination. But soon after, she let out a quiet laugh.
"Man… if someone saw me right now, they'd totally think I'm stressed out from work."
Time crawled by.
In between tasks, Eliana often drifted into daydreams. About many things: her future, her college studies stalled by money problems, dreams she couldn't quite define, or a small, quiet envy toward the people who worked in that building.
They wore neat suits, sat at air-conditioned desks, chatted while holding expensive coffee, sometimes even nodding off at work. Meanwhile, she cleaned up the leftovers of other people's lives.
"If I get reborn, I hope I'm born rich," she said, half joking, half serious.
Still, Eliana never truly hated her job. Somewhere inside her, she felt… at peace when she saw floors gleaming, glass shining, or rooms smelling fresh after she cleaned them. As if she was leaving behind small traces proof of her existence, even if no one else cared.
And despite all her complaints, Eliana was the type who never ran from responsibility.
After finishing the upper floors, she headed down the stairs toward the basement.
That place was different from the others, dark, damp, and dusty. A large room rarely used, filled only with rusty metal shelves and old machines that no longer worked.
A musty smell assaulted her nose the moment she entered. The neon lights on the ceiling flickered, adding to the eerie atmosphere.
"Ugh… I hate this part," she whispered, even though she was used to it by now.
Eliana turned on some soft music from her phone, just enough to mask her fear.
She started mopping quickly, hoping to finish and get out as soon as possible.
But that night felt different.
The mop in her hands… seemed to tremble.
Eliana stopped. She stared at the long wooden handle, frowning.
"Huh? Am I imagining things? Or am I just too tired?"
She shook the mop. Nothing strange, just an old mop with a wet cloth at the end. But a few seconds later, she saw a faint glow.
Very dim, almost like a reflection of light but it was clearly coming from the tip of the mop.
"…What is that?" Eliana murmured, goosebumps rising along her skin.
She blinked, and the light vanished.
"Must be just a reflection from the lamp. Yeah, definitely." She let out a stiff laugh, trying to calm herself. "I really need to buy coffee tomorrow. If I don't, I might actually lose my mind from work."
Even so, the strange feeling didn't fade. Something seemed to press down on the air in the room, making her feel as though she was being watched.
Eliana sped up her work.
Each swing of the mop made her heart beat faster. The longer she stayed there, the stronger the discomfort became.
She glanced to the right, to the left, behind the metal shelves. No one was there.
Only long shadows swaying beneath the dim lights.
"That's enough. I need to get out of here," she said, straightening the mop.
But just as she stepped toward the exit, a small click echoed from the mop handle.
As if something inside it had turned.
Eliana froze, swallowing hard.
Her left hand trembled as it touched the familiar wooden handle.
Not hot. Not cold.
Just… different.
She stood there, staring at her mop, as if waiting for something to happen.
But nothing did.
Only the silence grew thicker.
Eliana let out a long breath and lightly slapped her own cheeks.
"Enough with the drama. I finish work, go home, sleep, and wake up again tomorrow. My life is that simple. No need to think about weird stuff."
She lowered her gaze, looking at her faint reflection on the wet floor.
But this time, the reflection felt… wrong.
The eyes in the reflection looked sharper, glowing strangely, as if they were staring back into her very soul.
Eliana stepped back, then blinked.
And the reflection returned to normal.
"Haaah… I'm really exhausted." She let out a hollow laugh. "If I told anyone about this, they'd definitely say I'm stressed from overtime."
She turned off the music on her phone, placed the mop into the cart, and walked out of the basement.
The lights behind her flickered once, twice—then went out.
Outside, the city was still alive with the sounds of vehicles and flashing neon lights.
To Eliana, it was just a sign that the day was over, and tomorrow she would return to the same routine.
But deep within the dark basement she had left behind, the tip of the mop gleamed once more.
Very briefly just for an instant.
As if making a promise…
that Eliana's world would never be the same again.