Chapter 5

The factory floor was louder than a nightclub and hotter than a sauna.

​Lena walked gingerly along the yellow safety lines painted on the concrete floor, trying to shrink inside her neon vest. Every few seconds, a forklift would zip past, the driver honking aggressively.

​Beep! Beep!

​”Watch out!” Som shouted over the roar of the machines. She grabbed Lena’s arm and pulled her out of the way of a pallet jack loaded with blue barrels.

​”This is insane!” Lena yelled back, covering her nose. The air smelled of lavender and industrial alcohol-a dizzying combination. “Is it always this chaotic?”

​”It’s not chaos, it’s efficiency!” Som yelled, pointing to a massive stainless steel tank that stretched two stories high. “That’s the main emulsifier! It’s currently mixing three tons of body butter for a Korean brand!”

​Lena looked up at the tank. It was impressive, she had to admit. But she was too sweaty to care. Her hairnet was itching, and her feet were killing her.

​”I need water!” Lena shouted. “And somewhere with air conditioning!”

​Som rolled her eyes but nodded. “We can cut through the R&D Lab to get to the conference room. It’s cooler in there.”

​She led Lena and a terrified-looking Nut through a heavy double door marked: RESTRICTED AREA: LAB 1.

​The noise instantly cut out. The lab was quiet, stark white, and wonderfully air-conditioned. It looked like a spaceship compared to the factory floor. Glass walls, rows of high-tech microscopes, and counters covered in beakers and test tubes.

​There was only one person in the room.

​A woman was crouched on the floor near the back, kneeling in front of a large, humming machine that looked like a giant printer. She was wearing the standard-issue baggy blue uniform-pants that were too long and a shirt that was two sizes too big. A blue hairnet covered her hair, and she wore thick safety goggles.

​She had a wrench in one hand and was wrestling with a bolt on the side of the machine.

​”Ugh, finally,” Lena sighed, peeling the hard hat off her head and fanning herself. She walked over to the nearest counter, spotting a coffee machine in the corner. “Nut, get me water. Now.”

​Nut scrambled to find cups.

​Lena hopped up onto a lab stool, crossing her legs. She looked at the woman on the floor.

​”Hey! You!” Lena called out, snapping her fingers.

​The woman froze. She turned her head slowly. Through the goggles, Lena couldn’t see her eyes, but she saw a smudge of black grease on the woman’s cheek.

​”Me?” the woman’s voice was muffled by a face mask she had pulled down to her chin.

​”Yes, you,” Lena said, waving her hand dismissively. “The trash can is full. Empty it. And wipe down this counter, it’s dusty. My elbows are getting dirty.”

​The woman blinked. She slowly put down the wrench. She stood up.

​Even in the baggy uniform, she was tall. She wiped her greasy hands on a rag hanging from her belt.

​”I think the cleaning staff comes at 5:00 PM,” the woman said. Her voice was calm. Smooth.

​”I’m not waiting until 5:00 PM,” Lena huffed. She picked up a used paper cup that someone had left on the counter and held it out. “Here. Take this too. God, doesn’t anyone supervise you people? This place is a mess.”

​The woman stared at the cup in Lena’s hand. Then she looked up at Lena’s face.

​”You want me… to take your trash?”

“Are you deaf as well as slow?” Lena shook the cup. “Yes! Chop chop! We have a meeting with the… whatever, the boss people. I don’t want to look at garbage while I wait.”

​Behind them, Som had just finished taking a phone call. She turned around and saw what was happening. Her face went pale.

​”Khun Lena!” Som gasped, rushing forward. “What are you doing?”

​But it was too late.

​The woman in the goggles stepped forward. She took the cup from Lena’s hand.

​”Sure,” the woman said, her voice muffled behind the mask. She walked over to the bin, dropped the cup in with a soft thud, and then turned back.

​She reached up and pulled off the safety goggles, letting them hang around her neck. Then she pulled down her mask.

​Lena stopped breathing for a second.

​Without the gear obscuring her face, the woman was… striking. Sharp, intelligent eyes. High cheekbones that the grease smudge on her cheek only seemed to highlight. She didn’t look like a laborer. She looked like a model who had gotten lost on a construction site.

​”Anything else, Khun…?” the woman asked.

​”Lena,” Lena said automatically, though her voice wavered slightly. “Lena Schuett.”

​”Right. Khun Lena.” The woman’s lips curved into a small, unreadable smirk. “I’ll make sure to tell the cleaning staff you have high standards.”

​She turned to Som. “Som, is the viscosity test for Batch 402 ready?”

​Som straightened her spine instantly, looking nervous. “Yes… yes, Khun Miu. The report is on the main desk.”

​Khun Miu?

​Lena frowned. Why was the QC Manager acting so nervous around a grease-covered technician? And why was the technician calling her very politely?

​”Good,” the woman-Miu-said. She unzipped her baggy blue work jacket, revealing a glimpse of a white t-shirt underneath, but she didn’t take it off. She just grabbed the wrench from the floor. “I’m going to wash up. Handle the guest, Som.”

​She didn’t bow. She didn’t wai. She just turned around and walked out of the lab through a back door, swinging the wrench like it was a toy.

​Lena stared at the closing door, her mouth slightly open.

​”The audacity,” Lena whispered, turning to Som. “Who was that? Your head mechanic? She’s incredibly rude. You should fire her.”

​Som looked at the door, then back at Lena. She looked like she was in physical pain.

​”That was… um,” Som cleared her throat awkwardly. “Khun Lena, perhaps we should go to the conference room now? Ideally before you insult anyone else?”

​”I didn’t insult her!” Lena hopped off the stool, dusting off her trousers. “I gave her a task. She should be grateful I didn’t report her for the grease on her face. Come on, Nut. Let’s go meet the sales representative so we can get out of here.”

​Som closed her eyes for a brief second, muttering something that sounded like a prayer, before gesturing towards the hallway.

​”Right this way, Khun Lena.”