I’m tired of life. All the arguing and the fighting and the stress are getting to me. Myungsoo came up to me afterschool one day and asked me if I wanted to work on the project and I snapped. I don’t know why it was him of all people, but it just happened. The shocked and hurt expression on his face killed me.

We’ve been ignoring each other. I can’t seem to make eye contact with him and when we do, he always turns away. I want to apologize, but it feels awkward when all the words we say to each other are, “Yes,” and “No.”

Hwayoung has been watching me. She noticed that Myungsoo and I are keeping an icy distance. I heard her whisper to Jinah, “The ship is sinking,” and I glared at her. She only shrugged at me and gave me a smile. “You know you like him. He gives you these fluttery feelings in your stomach doesn’t he?” She burst into a fit of giggles and I hit her on the arm.

That’s just at school. Home is even worse. There isn’t just fighting anymore, there’s leaving the house too. A few days ago, both my parents weren’t home. It was nice without all the arguing, but it was lonely. Sungjong spent the day out and I spent the whole day in my room. Music was playing from the computer and I was staring at the picture frame that held the ripped picture of my brother and me. We were in the backyard. He was sitting on a tree branch and I was standing on the ground, trying to reach him.

I reminisced back to the day that picture was taken. I remember it quite clearly, even though it was years ago, when I was 7. We were playing the backyard, Sunggyu and I. He climbed the tree and told me to come up with him too. Being the little girl I was I couldn’t even reach the first branch. My parents, not the arguing ones I they are now, saw us and took a picture. I leaned my head to the side. That picture was framed in my room on my desk. It was ripped up and taped back together, faded in some places, and there were splotches of water on it.

That was when I remembered the little box in my desk of ripped of pictures I was meaning to tape back together.