I Like You || kyy || completed ||

Chapter 1

"It's going to be good for you," My mom whispered, her head bent forward. Her voice wavered and the tears she had been crying for weeks, fell silently down her tanned cheeks and onto my comforter.

"How?" I asked, my voice hard, "because I won't be here when the divorce is finalized? Because when I come back I'll be old enough to live on my own?"

My mother took a deep breath in, and slowly let it out, lifting her head to state at me. Her grey eyes, which mirrored mine, were blood shot and rimmed red. "No that's not it Anora I-"

"You're sending me to South Korea," I stated blandly, blinking slowly at her before looking down at my hands and picking at my finger nails.

"You've said it yourself that you wouldn't mind going!" She cried out, standing up adruptdly. Her long brown hair was up in a disheveled bun and the summer dress she wore was wrinkled.

"I didn't know I was going to be fucking shipped there."

"Watch your mouth," she breathed out. She clenched her hands into fists at her side, her eyes demanding my full attention. I didn't give her the satisfaction. She took a deep breath again, before continuing on about why this wouldn't be such a bad idea. "Use it to learn the language. Use this time to destress yourself. You'll be going during summer vacation so try to do what you wouldn't do here, there."

"I'm going to have to join the school system." The thought made my stomach turn and head pulse. She was basically forcing me to restart my life. Even my return date home wasn't set in stone.

"I know that. And it'll be better-"

"They're going to be farther ahead than I am. I'm going to be seen as stupid, not just because of my academic skills, but because I'm a foreigner. From America." The panic I had been feeling since Dad mentioned to divorce started rising in my chest, making it hard to breath.

"It's not going to be that bad," my mother grumbled, the slightest twinge of annoyance in her voice. I gritted my teeth and glared up at her.

"I'll take you up on that," I growled. She took a step back in surprise before her eyes narrowed and her tanned cheeks darkened further with an angry blush.

"Get packed. We're leaving at 4 in the morning. Your flight departs at 6." She left my room after that. No, "I love you". No, "I'm so sorry, you can stay. We'll work it out like normal people instead of shipping you off like an object." Nothing. I gritted my teeth and swung my legs off of the bed, planting them firmly on the ground.

Anger at my bubbled up my throat, treating to spill out in the form of a scream. Instead, I buried my anger , busying myself with packing.

• •

"Anora."

I gasped loudly and shot up in bed, my heart pounding against my chest. My dad stood beside my bed, his bottom lip pulled tightly between his teeth. His eyes looked cloudy, but that could have been the fact that there was no light coming in, save for the light slipping in from the door way. "What is it?" I whispered, rubbing at my eyes.

"It's time to go sweetie," he whispered, taking a step back so I could climb out of the bed. I yawned long and loud, continuously rubbing at my eyes as I slipped out of bed.

"What time is it?" I grumbled, blindly stumbling over to my closet. My dad didn't respond at first, instead walking over to my light switch and flipping the lights on.

I cringed into my closet door when the lights bathed the room, chasing away the darkness that had previously shrouded the room.

"It's 3. I figured waking you up this early would give you time to have shower, check over everything of need be, and head for the air port." His eyes were definitely glossy. His voice was thick with emotion and it made my heart break.