▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

Gods & Monsters
chapter three

▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

CHAPTER THREE
Cross-Contaminate

WHEN IT'S her day off, you can tell. Things in the front don't go as smoothly. Richie's fuse it more sensitive and insanely shorter. And Carmen is drowning. He's drowning in the lack of respect, in the lack of responses, and the lack of a buoy in the storm that was The Original Beef. At least with Miyeon around, he could take a breath. She was that for him; a breath of fresh air. Something to take his mind off of the ringing in his ears and the anxiety that flooded his lungs with thorned roses.

          He sat on the floor of the restaurant, scrubbing the linoleum, hands red from the piping hot water. The rest of the crew had gone home, muttering angrily to themselves. He hadn't let it get to him, not entirely. A part of him was angry. Why did they have to argue? Why couldn't they just listen to him? He had the qualifications. He had the skill. Why did he have to continue to prove himself to them? Why did they not respect him?

          And then he'd remember. He'd remember the way she looked at him, the way she told him that she respected him. He wasn't sure if she was telling the truth. A small part of him didn't believe her. She had only been working there a week and the days she had worked were hard. Either no one showed up or too many people did. But that other part told him that she was honest. She'd never lie to him. He trusted her immensely, too much perhaps.

          He sat back, looking out across the kitchen. His mind continued to drift back to her every now and again. It was an occurrence that formed a bad taste in his mouth. He thought about how she smiled, how she moved like a swan on the water. He thought about how often she licked her lips and the way it would smudge her makeup so slightly that you'd have to really be looking at her to notice. He thought about the way she held herself; how confident she seemed even when under fire or teasing from the others.

          And he thought a lot about how she looked at him. So sweet, so gentle. It made his palms sweat just thinking about it. Fuck, his inner voice cursed. Warmth spread through his stomach. He gripped his hands into two, tight fists. Blunt nails bit into the soft flesh of his palms. Eyes screwed closed. Fuck, he thought again.

          He had missed her. Admitting that was like a punch to the gut. He wasn't meant to feel that way, not for an employee. He wasn't supposed to seek her out or be thinking about her after hours. He wasn't supposed to think about her warm eyes or the beaming smile she had reserved just for him. He wasn't supposed to feel special, like he was the only one on her mind. But he did. She made him feel so special. She made him feel like he wasn't a complete failure; that he wasn't the disappointment he had proven himself to be.

          "Fuck," he cursed aloud, his voice echoing in the empty space. He slapped the rag, water splashing against his wrist, before standing to his feet with it still in his hand. He tossed it into the sink and stomped toward the opened office door. He wanted -- no, he needed -- to get into contact with her. She had left her phone number on her application form she had filled out after the fact she had gotten the job. It was something she had insisted, out of fear that it wouldn't be official if she hadn't.

          Hands shuffled through a mountain of papers until they found the right one. Her name stood out in black ink, just a few lines below it reading out her phone number. He sighed gently, leaning over the desk with his hands flat on either side of the paper. She wouldn't find this weird, right? Her boss calling in the middle of the night just to hear her voice. Maybe even check in. Ask her about her day.

          Curls fell into his eyes. He shook his head. He couldn't call her. He couldn't burden her with the fact that he felt lonely; that he felt so unspecial that it was making him sick. No, he had to be a man. He had to handle it on his own. He picked up the paper with one hand and opened one of the desk drawers with the other. After glancing at her name one more time, he dropped the paper into the drawer before slamming it closed.

୧ ‧₊˚ 🍮 ⋅ ☆

She hadn't meant to be late. She hadn't meant to sleep through her alarm or to fall down the concrete stairs leading up to her apartment. She hadn't meant to arrive just thirty minutes before opening. But she did, and when she did, she noticed the lack of Carmen in the kitchen. She sighed, dropping her bag into her locker. A hiss slipped through her teeth at the tug of the raw skin on her arm.

"Oh, shit," came a surprised voice. Miyeon spun around to see Manny there, eyes wide. "Damn, girl. Did you get mugged on the way here?" For the first time, he saw her frown. Her eyes were red from crying not long ago. Her head shook, her uninjured arm slamming the door to her locker closed. "No. I just fell on the way here. No big deal."

He looked stunned. "No big deal? Your bloody." She winced at the fact thrown her way. Her eyes dropped to the bloodied mess of her arm. She had scraped it up pretty bad in the fall and because she was so late, she didn't stop to clean it. "I'll get you a clean rag and then some band-aids. Cool?" She nodded, finally smiling over at the curly haired man.

However, it didn't last long. Carmen's voice tore her from her spot. Her feet involuntarily began to move into the kitchen. "Ay, fuck," Tina cursed upon seeing the brunette. "What the fuck happened?" she asked. Manny spoke up from where he was by the sink. "Fell," he answered. Miyeon gasped at the feeling of Tina's fingers on her wrist. She turned the appendage to get a better look. "Okay, ow," she breathed out.

Carmen hadn't spotted her yet. She could barely see his mop of curls, his body being blocked by Sydney. Curiosity tickled her brain. "Here," Manny said, holding out the warm and damp rag. She took it with a slight smile. "Thanks." Despite how much she wanted to see Carmen and explain herself, she needed to get cleaned up. So, she slipped through the kitchen until she reached the employee bathroom.

The lights flickered when she turned them on. Her eyes immediately met the mirror. She could barely see the blood at her elbow from where she stood, but she knew that it wasn't pretty. Torn skin didn't seem pretty, anyway. Her footsteps were silent as she approached the mirror. Her arm lifted up to her ear and it was then that she saw the massive scrape on her elbow and arm. The sight was gnarly. Dried blood and white skin stood out against her tanned flesh. An uneasiness filled her stomach from the sight.

It didn't take long for her to clean the wound and scrape off as much of the dead skin as she could. Before she knew it, she had only twenty minutes left to get situated up front, and she knew that Carmen would be pissed. She was so late. She was so late and her arm was sore, and she felt awful. The bathroom door swung open, narrowly missing Fak as he walked past.

"I am so sorry," she blurted out in surprise. Fak stood there, frozen, wide eyes glued to the brunette. He exhaled a stuttering breath. "Fak?" The call of his name had his cheeks growing red. He mumbled something incoherent before stumbling away. "Oh, my God. That's some fucking ass shit!"

Her head snapped toward the front of the house where she was expected to be. Her heart was pounding in her ears. Miyeon hurriedly raced for the door, only to bump into Carmen. His eyes widened upon spotting her. "Shit, I'm sorry," she muttered with pinched brows. "I'm not-- I'm late, and I have an excuse, but I don't think now's really the time to talk about it. But if you want to, we can. I'm just so sorry."

Nervously, she ran a hand over her injured arm. Carmen's eyes snapped toward the movement. Her skin was still pink from the scrubbing. "You okay?" he asked, brows furrowing. She quickly nodded. "All good, Chef. A-OK." He wasn't sure he quiet believed her, but now wasn't the time to press. So, he just nods. Silently, he continued his trek to the front of the house, Miyeon on his tail. Ebra and Marcus were already there, with Richie and a woman she didn't recognize. "Yo! Yo! What's going on?" Carmen asked.

"Nah, just-- It wasn't dangerous..."

"What's dangerous?" Carmen asked, his chest getting tighter. Marcus smiled upon seeing Miyeon. It wasn't natural for her to be late. Ever, really. She actually prided herself on her punctuality. It was a feat they all appreciated. "...Ms. Chore, until you pulled it out," Richie continued, ignoring Carmen's question.

"I discovered a large hole in the tile," the older woman informed him. It was then that she realized just who she was. Her whole presence screamed employed by the state. It didn't take much to discern that she had to be a health inspector. "Looks like a former gas line next to the stovetops. Not only was it not properly dry-walled and caulked, but someone clogged the hole with napkins and then proxied over it with some kind of fabric."

She was lost. The only words she recognized was gas line and caulked, but she continued to follow Carmen until she came to stand by Marcus. "Don't look at me," Richie warned the blue eyed man. He was wiping his hands clean. "Grease seeped into the napkins and the proxy became unproxied." Carmen glanced back to the health inspector. He seemed a little lost, too. "What does that mean?" he asked.

"A potential cross-contaminate," Ms. Chore replied. "Additionally, no hot water in the hand station." Miyeon cut her eyes toward Marcus. He looked just as worried about the grading. If they got anything lower than a B, it could ruin business. They could be on the cusp of closure. Richie and Sydney began talking at the same time, but Richie was just that much louder. The throbbing in her arm was starting to travel to her head in the form of a headache.

Her shoulders tensed, a soft sigh leaving her lips. "Health code states any sink near a prep area needs to deliver instantly hot water to prevent the spread of bacteria." That thought made her shiver. Manny had used that sink for her arm. Carmen rubbed his hand over his face, clearly stressed. "And I haven't even delivered the big one yet," Ms. Chore said.

"Shit," she whispered. Marcus huffed softly. "W-What is the big one?" Carmen asked. Ms. Chore looked over the staff before showing off the pack of cigarettes in her hand. "Someone left a pack of cigarettes on the stovetop near the burners." Richie's eyes widened. His hands began roaming his pockets to check. "Not only very dangerous, but also a potential contaminant." Carmen stared at the lanky man accusingly. "Motherfucker," he cursed. The word fell from his tongue as sharp as a knife.

"You can say that again," Ms. Chore replied in a somewhat humorous tone. Miyeon covered her mouth. "Motherfucker!" Richie cursed. That seemed to be enough to send Carmen reeling over into the deep end. "Don't actually say it again, you fucking idiot!"

"You're about to get fuckin' power-washed, cousin!" Richie spat back just as venomously. Ms. Chore didn't seemed phased by the violent outbursts. Instead, she only shouted over them. "Unfortunately! These violations leave me no choice. I award you a C." Her stomach dropped. The last time she had worked at a restaurant that got a C, she was out of a job in a month's time. She withdrew the paper as Richie began denying it profusely. Carmen lifted his hands, not wanting to touch it. "That's some hood shit," Marcus commented, and Miyeon found herself laughing nervously.

Everyone seemed to be shocked by the grade. "You know what? I'm gonna caulk that shit right now," Richie said. Ms. Chore scoffed. "Oh, oh, oh, it doesn't matter how fast you do it. I can't come back to test for thirty days." Carmen's eyes were far away. Disbelief and anger contorted his features into a deep set frown. "What! It'll take five-- No, no, no! Don't touch that. It will take five seconds to caulk. I can caulk! Let me fucking caulk!"

"Richie!" Carmen shouted at him.

"Richie, there's no caulk in-house, dude," Fak informed him. Richie's face was only growing more and more red as the seconds went on. "Shut the fuck up, Fak!" he screamed at the tattooed handy man. Ms. Chore blinked before slipping past the angry man. "See you all later," she said over the chaos that had ensued. "Shut the fuck up!" Richie warned Fak once more as he opened his mouth.

Miyeon shook her head. A seat sounded really good right now, or a cold glass of water. Anything sounded better than standing there, listening to Richie flip out. Richie turned toward Carmen, who held onto the graded paper disdainfully. "Dude, it's okay. We'll fix it." A shadow fell over the man's face. She felt her heart stutter in her chest.

He walked up to Richie, lips pressing into a tight line. His finger stabbed into the man's chest. "Bitch at me? You wanna run this place, you fucking slob?" Richie shoved Carmen away, brows furrowed. "How do you know they're not your cigarettes?" he asked. Surprise etched itself across her features. Marcus nudged her out of the way before stopping Richie mid swing. Sydney squeezed between the two, her forearm pressed against Carmen's chest.

"Put it in the fucking window!" Carmen told Richie, demanded really. Miyeon watched, stunned. As it continued, she did the only thing she could think to do. Channeling her father, she slipped her pinky fingers past her lips and whistled as loudly as she could. Heads turned toward her, hands moving to cover ears. Her face had visibly paled. Arms crossed tight over her chest. "Fighting isn't going to fix this," she reminded them.

Richie glared at the blue eyed man. "That's your C," he sneered. Her hands moved to her hips. Carmen blinked before screwing his eyes closed. "Alright! Here's what we're gonna do." His eyes reopened and locked onto the man he felt responsible for the grade. "You're gonna go to the hardware store, you're gonna get some joint compound, you're gonna get some caulk, and you're gonna caulk that shit."

It felt like he was talking to a child. Richie scoffed. "Okay, well, uh, FYI, I'm not your fucking gopher," Richie spat. She pinched the bridge of her nose. Carmen grinned, a twisted grin that Miyeon had never seen him possess. "FYI? FYI? FYI?! You cocked it up, you're gonna caulk it out!"

"Okay, well, I would love to, but, uh, my license is expired, FYI."

"You drove in this morning," Sydney said incredulously. He turned his glare onto the new sous chef. "Sydney, you wanna help? You can take him." She sighed. "No. Time out. I'll Uber. Thank you," Richie argued. Sydney trained her eyes on the older man. It was getting more and more clear that those two didn't get along too well. "Surge rates, fucko," Carmen reminded him.

Carmen was drowning. His head was under water and no matter how much he screamed, no one was coming. He stared down at the graded paper with dead eyes. Miyeon's head tilted ever so slightly. Guilt slipped into the pit of her belly, nausea tensing her muscles. She swallowed. She wasn't sure if it was the guilt or just the fact she hadn't eaten in hours. Or maybe it was the dying adrenaline in her veins. Either way, she felt like she needed to sit in front of a blowing fan.

Carmen snatched the paper. "Fix that fucking sound," he seethed. "Please fix that fucking sound!" She wasn't sure where he was storming off too, but she knew that she needed to follow him. Like a shadow, she was there, swallowing down the worry that wanted to jump from her tongue in the form of a thousand questions. Carmen glanced over his shoulder for a split second before exiting the building. The cold air greeted them, the jingling of the bells fading in the background.

"I don't care that you were late," he told her, running a hand through thick curls. She eyed him as she moved to stand beside him. Her soft eyes took in his features; the dark bags under his eyes and the twitching of his eyelid. "We'll fix it," she said. "The whole place will be spotless before the next thirty days. You'll be shocked how sparkly those floors'll be."

He shook his head. The absence of a smile had her chest tightening. "You said you had an excuse for being late," he said, breathlessly. Finally, he turned his head to meet her eyes. "What happened?" She swallowed. Color began to spread beneath her skin. She hadn't actually wanted to go into detail what happened. It was embarrassing enough that it happened. But a distraction could do wonders for Carmen right in that moment. So, she swallowed her pride like a heavy pill. "Well, I slept through my alarm first. And then when I was leaving my apartment, I tripped over air and fell down the stairs like a total idiot."

She folded her arm to show off the gnarly injury. Carmen's brows knitted together and he breathed in a sharp breath. "Fuck," he said. Gentle fingers took hold of her arm, tilting it back for a better view. "Yeah. Stupid, right?" A soft, humorless chuckle fell past her lips. He shook his head. "Not stupid. Accidents happen."

His eyes flickered back up to meet hers. "You clean it?" She nodded, lips clamping shut. The color in her face only worsened. He exhaled a soft sigh, releasing the appendage before shoving his hands into his pockets. "I have some Neosporin and some gauze in the office. I'll help you bandage it up."

"Okay," she exhaled. He offered her a soft smile, a stark contrast to the grin she had seen earlier. It was a smile she saw sparingly, and only in her direction. Or so she liked to think. Or maybe she hoped it was reserved only for her. Either way, it had her heart pounding in her chest. "C'mon," he chuckled. "Okay," she echoed, this time with a hint of humor in her tone.

His hand met the middle of her spine, hot against her skin. She felt like she was going to break out into a sweat. She paused. "I'm sorry," she sighed. "I know you said that you don't care, but... I'm really sorry. It won't happen again." Carmen smiled. He used his free hand to push open the front door once more. "I know," he replied. And he did. He trusted her. He believed in her. More than himself, it seemed.

rumi says . . .

god i really suck at writing
action scenes lmao. but i tried
& im not mad at how it ended up.

i really love miyeon. and im seriously
enjoying he & carmen. they make me
kick my feet & twirl my hair yk ?

what are u guys' thoughts so far ?
how's the pace ? too fast ? lmk

thank you for reading!
feedback is greatly appreciated!