Entry 1

                 —His lips turned upwards in a smile, crooked, and for some reason, endearingly childish.—

            I'm not entirely sure why I decided to start a new diary. Perhaps it's because today was my first day back in Korea in ages, as well as my first day at a new school. Again, I'm not entirely sure. But, this marks the first day of a new beginning, I guess.

            I couldn’t sleep last night, not a single wink. Maybe it was because I hadn’t attended a school in Korea since my second year of high school. And now, I’m attending the Seoul University. Talk about dream come true.

            Anyway, getting up at five thirty in the morning with dark circles that resemble a panda's spots wasn’t part of my first day of school plan, but twisting and turning in bed was the least productive thing I could’ve done.

            So, I had dragged myself out of bed and gotten ready to head out, taking my sweet time. Every second, I could feel the anxiety creeping up on me. There would be new people, new teachers, new buildings and classrooms, and on top of all that, I was transferring in my third year of college. Maybe I wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb in the new student aspect, but I was sure that it would be obvious I hadn’t lived in Korea for the past four years, and they would coin me as a complete foreigner.

            Hoping that I’d remember where the diner was, I had left my apartment, with the sun peeking out.

            The neighborhood I live in now is the same one I lived in as a child. The early morning would leave the streets utterly busy, and yet other times, allow it to become as deserted as a ghost town. And today happened to be one of those days. This morning, the only sounds I could hear were my breathing and my shoes hitting the concrete sidewalk. Maybe it was something I’d gotten used to as a kid, the silence, but today, my walking seemed to speed up nervously every few steps until I was jogging towards the all-too–familiar diner.

            Morning Glory Diner’s been there since before I was born, according to my parents. And the relatively old architecture and style convinced me of it even more as a child. But it was homey, and the food was great, so it eventually became a regular hang out for me. That is, until I left.

            When I saw it this morning, it was like a trip down memory lane. And I welcomed it as I walked through the clear, glass doors.

            There was a waiter there who looked as if he might fall asleep any second, his head leaning against his slipping arm. He started to nod off while his other arm was lazily wiping the counter. It looked as if he just got out of bed for the early morning shift, as his hair was a complete mess of awkward, light brown spikes, and the buttons of his shirt were misaligned.

            And it was hilarious when the door let out a charming chime, causing him to start in surprise, and his elbow slipped. After ungracefully slamming against the counter, he lifted up his head and rubbed it, blushing from the scene he just created.

            After muttering something under his breath, he looked up towards me and tried to fake a smile, but his efforts were wasted in a slight grimace. “Welcome to the Morning Glory Diner.” His voice was laced with grogginess, and he tried to clear his throat in order to speak louder. “Anything I can get for you this morning?”

            I nodded and walked forward, sitting in a stool in front of him at the counter. I told him I wanted black coffee. And when he was about to start making it, he suddenly turned back towards me, cocking an eyebrow.

            “Aren’t you a little young for black coffee? The only people I ever serve that to are business men in their thirties.” His hand was already holding a porcelain, white mug with the diner’s name on it, setting it down gently on the counter.

            I remember him slipping out of his sleepy state, and immediately into a casual voice. He was speaking too casually to someone he just met, in my opinion. Despite moving to America, I was still used to the common, extra-formal Korean language tone and was surprised at how he spoke.

            But I replied anyway, saying, “Cream and sugar don’t belong in the coffee.”

            “Why is that?”

            “You lose the actual flavor.”

            His lips turned upwards in a smile, crooked, and for some reason, endearingly childish. He whipped around to start making the coffee as he said, “Maybe I should try it sometime.”

            As he was busy making the beverage, I reached into my bag to grab the map of the school, trying to familiarize myself with the campus so I wouldn’t get lost.

            Setting down my coffee next to the paper, his eyes read the title of the school and slightly widened. “Seoul University?” he asked. “Isn’t that a bit far from here?”

            I nodded. “But I’ll take the bus. It won’t take too long to get there.”

            “Are you a first year there?”

            “No, a third year. I transferred from a school in America.”

            He nodded back to me and smiled. “Good luck, then. I’m assuming it’s your first day there.” He pointed at the map.

            I stuttered out an affirmation, and that only caused him to chuckle at me. I’ve always been quick to become embarrassed, so I’m pretty sure I blushed at the time.

            “How is your Korean so good if you came from America? You sound almost fluent,” he asked, trying to make conversation. I would have been trying to also if I barely got a customer during my shift.

            Concisely, I just told him that I used to live in Korea.

            Nodding back, he then searched through the pockets of his apron before pulling out a small notepad and pen. “Sorry I forgot to ask earlier, but do you want anything to eat? Always good to start the day with breakfast, right?” He smiled widely. “Oh! And I’m Minseok.” He pointed to his nametag, where his name was written in block Hangul.

            I told him that I usually skipped breakfast, and for some reason, that set him off on a long lecture about why breakfast was essential.

            “You can’t not eat breakfast, especially if you’re a college student! It helps give your brain that jump start in the morning and your metabolism can’t start without the food, either.”

            He continued on for quite a few minutes, and the entire time, I tried not to laugh at the way he spoke so enthusiastically.  Minseok seemed to be one of those people who used their hands often while they spoke, as he continued to try and make hand motions relevant to his words.

            “Are you listening?”

            “You speak very casually to someone you just met,” I said, voicing my thoughts.

            Minseok laughed and said, “If I use a casual tone, most customers think it’s more friendly and welcoming.”

            “And others?”

            “They scold me,” he said sheepishly. “And then, of course, my manager gets mad. That’s why she switched me to this shift, since barely anybody comes until the last half hour of my shift… Do you want me to use formal speech?” Minseok’s smile was still persistent, despite the awkward question I asked him. He seemed to be so much different from his sleepy self I had seen just moments before.

            “You don’t have to. I was just wondering,” I replied before glancing at the variety of breakfast they had on the hanging menu. “And I’ll just have a croissant.”

            “Great! I’ll be right back with your order,” he said, tucking the unused pen and pad of paper back into his apron pocket.

            I remember that he was back within minutes with the croissant, decorated with chocolate and almonds.

            “The best one we have!” he said as he set it down in front of me before leaning against the counter. Running his fingers through his hair, Minseok only managed to make it even messier, and it might have made him look crazy if it weren’t for his somewhat innocent and childish look as he waited for me to try the breakfast food.

            But before I could take a bite, his attention was immediately averted to a new, tired customer, trudging in and seating himself at a booth.

            Minseok quietly sighed before smiling and saying, “Hope you enjoy your breakfast! I’ll come back to check on you in a few minutes to see if you need anything else.” And with that, he dashed off to the booth, paper and pen swiftly pulled out of his pocket.

            I left ten minutes afterwards, mostly because the morning rush of businessmen and early morning shift workers began coming in, bombarding Minseok. Leaving money on the table for him, I had managed to slip out before a crowd of high school students came in, shouting, “Hey, Minseok!”

            It seemed as if the early morning sleepiness had completely left him as he greeted everyone with efficiency and hospitality. As he saw me leaving, Minseok gave me a quick smile as he scribbled down orders, managing to wave for a second.

            I waved back before shouldering my bag and walking towards the bus stop.

            And to be honest, the rest of the day flew by without a hitch… or maybe I just can’t remember it correctly. My mind kept drifting back to the waiter in the Morning Glory Diner, the diner of my childhood. I’ve only ever associated that diner with good memories… so maybe he’ll become another good memory for me.

 author's note Hey guys! So, I've decided to not wait for my graphics and just upload the first entry! The chapters will vary in length because these are diary entries; some days, people write a whole ton, and other days, not so much. I'll try to keep it realistic in length. However, as for when I'll be able to update, that might not be so consistent. I've been fairly busy recently and may not have time to write a lot, so I'm really sorry if I don't update often. Hope you guys like the chapter, and sorry for any mistakes ^^" I know it's no excuse, but again, I've had no time to proof read. Thanks for reading, loves!

~DespisedSecret

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