Things have been pretty chill for me lately, so I don't have much to write about—but I've been thinking a lot about something that just happened in my life. Two months ago, on April 4, 2026, I had my first date ever—with a young lady :)). Part of me knows memories like this are better left to fade, but these ones were happy enough that I decided to publish this diary entry. I don't want to spoil anything, but the story between me and her wrapped up in five chapters—some with diary entries, some without... because I was sad and couldn't be bothered to write the rest. Still, they'll stay as happy memories I look back on now and then... I wrote this diary section a long time ago and only meant it for myself, so the tone is going to be very elliptical... proceed with caution...

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Diary — the day we first met (04/04/2026)

The night before, I went out and bought a Coolmate T-shirt and a hair clip for her. That was it. Hmm—maybe I hadn't prepared enough; I was pretty disappointed in myself. The next day was the meet-up—what do I do now? In the morning I had coffee with some Vinhomes guys—so boring, just nervously waiting for the afternoon. At lunch I couldn't nap either; too nervous. That afternoon I left at 4. I'd only bought the shirt the night before and still hadn't bought pants—oh my god. I stopped at a local shop and grabbed a pair of black jeans on the fly. It felt way too hot; I couldn't show up soaked through. What to do? Took the shirt off underneath and just used my jacket to cover up—good enough, ugh. Off we go...

I'd already gotten her number and address. I took the long route, crossed Đồng Nai Bridge, glided past the street she mentioned (can't leak the address here), then headed to Got Pizza—picked up some gum and mouthwash while I was at it, sigh.

I got there at 5:45, changed in the restroom, rinsed, fixed my hair, nerves on top of nerves. While I waited, some kid nearby kept yelling about Valorant—it was funny and took the edge off a little. Waiting... opened my phone to see if she'd left yet... taking forever... should I call to check? At 6:15 she texted that she'd arrived—time to go meet her. Oh—she was petite; I was too shy to look straight at her—what do I do, what do I do...

First impression: her voice was really deep—hard to hear; I even thought she might be sick. But right when we sat down she went on the offensive. I remember something like "first time meeting, gift for your date, I looked up IT folks for reference"—oh why can't I remember the rest. I was so nervous; thank you, and I walked her in—why didn't I hand her my gift right then? Sigh, I was such an idiot.

Opened the door for her, showed her to a seat—okay, but then I randomly pulled a chair over for her to put her stuff on—kind of weird, not really necessary, felt too fussy, sigh. Too late now—sit down. First thing: I didn't dare look at her; I don't even remember where my eyes went. I didn't know what to say, so she spoke first: "You said this week was a hard week—can you tell me what that was like?" Oh—who is this, beautiful and thoughtful; I had to open up too. Ordered another drink.

Sitting there looking at her—hair tied up cute, big sparkling eyes—oh how pretty? Small high nose, full red lips, really gorgeous. Especially the scent—strong but very pleasant; how is everything so cute? Maybe I stared into her eyes too much that day—eye contact might have been a bit much, but she was too pretty not to. Didn't dare look at her clothes—look and you're a creep—but I remember she wore something with a bow, high modest neckline—oh my, if this isn't a princess or an angel, what is~~.

Finished my drink and forgot to order again—she had to remind me; I'm so embarrassed at myself. She wasn't picky so I ordered for both of us; only after ordering did I realize we were missing appetizers and dessert, sigh—what was I even thinking. Ordered salad but didn't know how to serve it; ordered meat but didn't know how to pass her dipping sauce. Oh my god! When I tried to pick salad for her I fumbled everything—nothing went right~~~

The way she ate was very graceful—small bites each time, and when she brought food to her mouth her other hand covered her chest (ai—should this part even be in the diary?).

Conversation was mostly me apologizing for how awkward my texting was—oh my god, my first date. I should've talked about my good points, not my texting—but my texting was stupid too, so I had to apologize, sigh. She also said she doesn't like texting but is fine meeting in person; she'd seen people randomly calling when replies were slow and found that annoying—I hope I did okay on that front, though she really did reply slowly. Well—the mindset I had when texting wasn't healthy; everything was doomed; I wasn't anything to her yet and I texted like an idiot—no hope at all. Even so she still smiled and let it go—how can someone be this cute.

After eating I suggested a walk. The streets around the place were crowded, but everyone was clustered at sidewalk stalls so we couldn't really stroll. So she decided to go to the river embankment instead (TODO: find and re-insert the name). Before we left I remembered to give her the gift box—too bad she said it was a bit flashy. Outside I saw her in a long skirt with a top that made her look small and slender (true, really). Her vibe was dreamy—like a princess among thousands of other girls. A look I rarely see on anyone, with a special feeling—her style really had taste. Meanwhile I was just in jeans and a T-shirt, pants even a bit loose—so embarrassed.

Walking, I saw her in a huge Honda cap—looked totally opposite to her petite frame, hilarious. While we walked I edged a little to the left—staying right behind her or I'd get called a creepy old man. When we got there I finally teased her that the cap was too big, didn't match—but she said safety; well, my faultttt. Walking beside her she smelled so good :))), didn't dare look over again—I felt like such a delinquent kid. We looped around a while, stood at the railing chatting—mostly her telling university stories. She didn't want college; wanted to bake, but dad wasn't supportive while mom backed her fully because she's the daughter. She also wanted to study math education or journalism. Going to Đà Nẵng was because her transcript got her in and because uncle persuaded her—then dumped his niece on someone else to raise; hate that uncle, will confront him someday. And about becoming club president—sigh, she gets persuaded too easily, raises her hand and falls into the trap, lol—but they only promote you if you have substance. She didn't love it but still fought hard—not like me, just eat, sleep, and code; boring, nothing to say about college.

After standing a while I suggested sitting on a stone bench—she sat down so fast I didn't even check how dirty it was, sigh. Then hours of rambling—especially the book thing; I was already dumb and still acted silly, why tell her that, sigh—"how to raise kids," so annoying. After a bit Khánh felt her skin stinging—probably sensitive to the weather; wish I'd given her tissues then.

We sat until about 9:40 and headed back. I walked her home her way; at An Hảo Bridge she said go straight and turn right to get home—I said okay. But after I'd left her a little ways, it felt wrong—you don't just leave a girl like that. I rushed back to catch up—luckily still in time. Dropped her at her street and let her go home—didn't dare walk her to the door; her dad would kill me, lol.

When I got home she checked if I'd made it back—oh my life, the warmth started here. She thought the date was okay and didn't object to a second one. A positive signal—and I wanted to hear that voice again, that face, those hands, those stories <3.

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