ENTRY 2

                 —There was a small smile perched on his lips, showing his simple content with the mundane tasks.—

            I went back to the diner again this morning, about the same time as yesterday. The walk there wasn’t nearly as haunting as yesterday morning, but still, the quiet, calm of the early day time was creepy. Maybe others thought it was nice, but I couldn’t stand the loneliness of the air. I arrived just short of five minutes later than the morning before. 

            There was the same loud chime that resounded through the diner once I’d stepped foot inside, welcoming me and causing Minseok to slam his head (ungracefully) against the polished counter (once more). He looked up sheepishly and apologized before he greeted me. Once our eyes met, though, he immediately recognized me and seemed to regain all of his wandering energy. Like a child who was just given a piece of candy after suffering under boring circumstances, his eyes lit up.

            “Good morning!” Minseok said brightly, flashing his wide smile. The glimmer of brief excitement in his eyes caused me to chuckle before sitting down in the same seat as yesterday. He must’ve been insanely bored without any customers.

            I nodded. “Good morning, Minseok.” I set my bag down onto the chair next to me before pulling out some papers.

            “What can I get for you?” He threw a white towel behind him carelessly before pulling out his notepad and pen. His slim fingers twirled the pen once before tapping it gently onto the paper, ink staining the pristine, crisp sheet.

            “Black coffee.”

            “And?”

            “That’s it.”

            “Didn’t you hear what I said about breakfast yesterday?”

            I remember laughing and agreeing to some toast, surprised that he recalled such a short conversation. He nodded in approval, scrawling down what seemed to be his first order of the morning. Strands of his caramel colored hair bobbed up and down with his head, the rest of his hair just as messy as yesterday. The way his hair looked even more energetic and wild than he seemed to be at the time was comical, and part of his charm, I suppose.

            Minseok said that he would pick out a random jam flavor for me to smear over my toast beforehe disappeared through a door into the kitchen. I heard a few clangs as I assumed he was preparing the toast. Walking back out with a mug, Minseok fluidly slid over to the coffeemaker and poured the steaming serving of caffeine into the white cup before setting it in front of me.

            “One piping hot cup of black coffee.” Minseok made a small turn before gliding back into the kitchen and darting right back out with a plate of toast, a small knife, and a small tub of peach jam. “And a slice of toast. Enjoy your breakfast!”

            “Peach?”

            “Because my morning’s been pretty peachy so far!” Minseok laughed at his own joke, causing me to quietly join in his laughter.

            The way he seemed to move so efficiently and smoothly without even making a mistake told me that he probably worked at the diner for a long time already. Minseok made it seem second nature to him.

            Smearing some jam over my piece of toast and taking a bite, I looked down at the papers in front of me: a schedule and a campus map. With the campus being bigger than I was used to, I was still unable to find all of my classrooms yesterday and was determined to find them today.

            But before I could even take a sip of my coffee, Minseok stood in front of me, hands supporting his head. “You look way too serious for someone your age. It can’t be that you’re stressed already.” He puffed out his cheeks, as if to act cute, and I couldn’t stop the small laugh from leaping from my mouth.

            I told him I simply wanted to make sure I wouldn’t get lost. He replied that even if I did, I would get to see more of the campus.

            “Hurry and eat,” he said, picking up a cloth and aimlessly wiping at the counter again. “An hour will pass if you keep chatting away like that.”

            I asked him who the one trying to converse with me was, and he simply smiled cheekily before looking away, attempting to appear innocent.

            Afterwards, I barely remember consuming my breakfast as I was… well, basically ogling at Minseok as he continued to slowly work around the diner, cleaning already spotless tables, brewing a new pot of coffee, filling napkin holders, and so on. Each move he made seemed to… fluid, rehearsed. But I knew it couldn’t have been. It was just a result of having performed those actions repeatedly over a long period of time. Throughout all of it, there was a small smile perched on his lips, showing his simple content with the mundane tasks. Or… was it even content? Perhaps it was a subconscious action of his, to naturally smile as he worked.

            Mindlessly, I blurted out whether he had always wanted to be in this type of business, running a diner.

            As he finished up refilling a napkin holder and slid it onto the counter, he spun around once before smoothly gliding over to stand in front of me behind the counter. Minseok’s smile widened at the opportunity to talk again. And he simply shook his head, confusing me.

            I told him that it seemed as if he really enjoyed this work.

            He said that it was just a routine for him, to wake up at the crack of dawn, get to the diner, and lazily ease through the early morning in the calm atmosphere.

            So then I asked, “Why did you choose the earliest shift?”

            Minseok calmly answered, “It’s how I can fit my three jobs into one day easily.” It seemed as if he thought it was the most obvious answer. Glancing at my empty coffee cup, he asked whether I wanted a refill.

            I nodded and Minseok quickly grabbed the freshly brewed pot of coffee, pouring its contents into the small, white mug.

            Suddenly, the entrance to the diner swung open with a loud bang, overshadowing the friendly chime.

            “Minseok, old man! Your favorite high schoolers have arrived!” announced a teenager around the same height as Minseok, with dark, ebony hair, and a teasing smile. Two others who seemed embarrassed by his loud outburst followed him in.

            “Hey! I’m not that much older than you! And stop yelling!”

            “But I’m not in class right now. Why should I stop?” He yelled out the second part, obviously trying to irritate Minseok.

            Minseok laughed before telling the three boys to sit in their usual seats. He would be back with their breakfasts.

            The three of them sat directly beside me, eyeing me curiously.

            “You look familiar,” said the loud boy, Jongdae. He squinted his eyes before exclaiming, “Ah! You were here yesterday, too, talking to Minseok.”

            I told him I was just there for breakfast, and holding a conversation seemed much more interesting than studying a school map.

            The high school student laughed and nodded before yelling at Minseok to hurry. The other two rolled their eyes, one sighing while the other joined in momentarily, even slamming his palm a couple times against the counter to get Minseok’s attention.

            Balancing three plates and a couple of mugs, Minseok walked out easily, placing the dishes in front of their respective consumers.

            Without another word, two of them immediately dived in, surprising me with how quickly they seemed to be eating the morning meal. The third quickly uttered a short thank you before joining in the intake of food.

            Minseok sighed before walking back over to me. “I swear, Yixing is probably the only one with real manners out of those three.” He laughed. “Well, is there anything else I can get you?”

            I took a quick sip of my coffee, now unpleasantly lukewarm, before shaking my head. He nodded in reply and ran to grab the check for me.

            Taking a glance around the diner, I could recall my past experiences in the quaint diner. This was where so much of my childhood was built. Had the waitresses and waiters of the time been working in the morning shift, they would, perhaps, recognize me.

            Before my mind could continue to reminisce, Minseok was back with the check and a polite thank you before attending to the rowdy high schoolers. In their midst, he seemed just like them, with a playful attitude and energetic demeanor. But there was a touch of something about him that seemed… solemn compared to them.

            I paid quickly and left before I could try and snoop, knowing that I my curiosity would eventually get the best of me. Minseok waved happily before saying goodbye, and telling me to come again. I waved back and smiled, walking out the glass doors.

            But the rest of my day seemed to tumble down. I arrived at the university only to get lost and walk into the class late. Though the professor didn’t seem to care much, only sparing a disapproving glance my way, the other students seemed to sneer. At first, I tried to convince myself it was my imagination. Yet, throughout the rest of the day, I realized why they sneered and only seemed to steer away from me.

            First was my appearance, which differed slightly from them. My hair was dyed a much lighter brown than it originally was, and I was dressed in comfortable, not fashionable, clothes. They mocked the way I dressed, and their whispers weren’t quiet at all. I could hear them tease the slight accent I had in my speech, for I hadn’t used Korean regularly everyday until just a few days ago. My height also seemed to be an issue for them, as I was shorter than desired in this culture.

            It felt like a high school in a drama. Though high schools in America had their fair share of prejudices and bullying, I was always a wallflower, and therefore, rarely taunted, barely noticed. This was the first time I had ever stood out, and the negative attention pulled down my mood drastically.

            The voices of my professors seemed to be drowned out by the whispers all around me, amplified by my mind. And by the time I reached my apartment after all of my classes, I felt as if my peers had completely assaulted my mind, my human emotions. I knew that there would be some discrimination, some teasing, but I never thought it would be to the extent where I would actually care, be negatively affected. And I certainly didn’t think I would be crying right now as I write this all down. I just need to throw it all out of my system somewhere.

            Why did college just seem so much like an overly dramatic high school T.V. show? No, why did college here seem like it?

            I’ve only been in Korea for a little while, so I know I shouldn’t judge it so soon. But I don’t think I can help it when I’ve been attacked so abruptly upon my arrival. 

 author's note Hello! Long time no see T.T! I've finally updated this chapter (I was going to yesterday but kept forgetting D:). Hope you guys liked this short chapter >< I'll definitely try harder to update all of my fics regularly and fairly. Thanks so much for waiting, loves! Please comment and subscribe (maybe even upvote :D?)~ See you next time!

~DespisedSecret

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