I shut off the shower and grabbed the towel hanging on the hook outside the curtain. That's when I heard voices. My parents were fighting. It was first time in weeks I'd heard that sound and my heart sank.

I snuck down the hall, wondering what they could possibly have to fight about.

"Have you seen his new place?" my mom was saying. "He thinks he has more money than he actually has."

"He has a lot of money," my dad said.

"But no way of making more right now. Doe he think it's going to magically replace itself? He needs to go to school or get a job. That's how it works. I know some people in this house don't understand that concept."

"Are you talking about me? You don't think I know how money works?"

"I often wonder. You've seemed to think we could survive without it for the last three years."

"How long are we going to have this argument?"

"Until you get it."

"I'm not the one who just quit my job."

"Excuse me?" she asked.

He growled. "Let's not get sidetracked. We're talking about Sangmoon. He needs to figure out on his own. Stop treating him like a child. He'll learn."

"With you as his teacher?"

"I'm glad to know that money doesn't erase bitterness," my dad said.

"And it doesn't erase laziness either."

"I'm going to play golf. Am I allowed to do that? Or should I juts sit here and read all day?"

"Is that what you think I do all day? You don't appreciate me. I worked for years for us. And now I'm here at home working to make our house nice, to be here for our kids, and you still don't appreciate me."

He let out a heavy sigh, and then Dad was walking my way. I could hear his angry footsteps on the tile. I quickly backtracked and shut myself behind my bedroom door.

I sat down on my bed. The door slammed down the hall, startling me. It was just one fight. Couples were allowed to fight. It didn't mean that everything would come crumbling down. But it felt that way.

☘ 𝔏𝔬𝔱𝔱𝔬 𝔏𝔬𝔳𝔢 ☘

As I headed to class I noticed Jisoo and Irene in a tight huddle around Jisoo's locker. I stopped and waited for a moment, but they remained, talking quietly with each other, deep in conversation, like they'd been that way for hours. 

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, trying to decide if I wanted to go up the aisle and see what was causing so much intensity. My decision was made for me when Irene looked up and met my eyes.

I smiled and lifted my hand in a wave, which hung there, only half committed, when she looked back to Jisoo and said something. Jisoo turned around, a guilty expression on her face. Had they been discussing me? It was the only explanation for this reaction.

"Hi," I said, feeling more than awkward. I forced myself to walk toward them. "What are you guys doing? Did you meet here before school without me?" I'd said it as a joke, to try to lessen the tension, but the way they exchanged a glance made me realize they had.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I was just filling Irene in on the article," Jisoo explained.

"Oh." I hadn't decided who I was going to tell and who I wasn't, but Irene was definitely one of the ones I was. "Okay." I still don't understand why this had required early meeting. Or why I wasn't included in said meeting.

"We know who talked to the journalist," Jisoo said.

My heartbeat ramped up. "You do? Who?"

"Jennie," Jisoo said.

"What? Why do you think that?"

"It makes the most sense," Jisoo replied. "She's been nosing into your life since the second she found out you won the lottery. It stands to reason that she would be gathering information to use her benefit."

My eyes shot from Jisoo to Irene, who shrugged, then avoided my eyes by kicking at a rock by her foot. I had thought they were going to give me solid proof, but this was just conjecture.

I sighed. "I mean, I guess it could've been her, but it really could've been anybody, right? I don't think that's enough proof to accuse her of anything."

Jisoo threw her hands in the air. "She's the only one with any motivation."

"And what motivation is that?"

"She's sinister. She thought you were getting too much attention or were going to dethrone her or something."

"I think whoever did this was motivated by money. They were probably paid. And money could be a motivation for anyone," I said. "What do you think, Irene?"

"I don't know. I mean, I guess."

"Why are you defending Jennie?" Jisoo asked me.

"Because she's been nice to me and I don't want to jump to conclusions based on speculation."

"You don't trust our opinions?" Jisoo asked.

"It's not that at all. It's just that anyone could've done it. For all I know, one of you did it."

Jisoo's mouth dropped open. "What?"

"I'm not saying that you did; I'm just saying we have no proof."

"You're changing, Suzy," Jisoo said.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What? How?"

"Ever since you won the lottery it's like you don't care about the things you used to. You got a C on your history quiz."

"I did?" She'd obviously graded it for Mr. Song. But she couldn't wait for me to find that out on my own? It was the first C I'd ever gotten in my life and it hit me like a punch to the gut. "It should be okay," I covered quickly. "It's only a small part of the grade. My other scores will help me maintain an A." I hoped that was the truth.

"You would have never been okay with a C before," Irene said.

"I'm not okay with it now. But there's not much I can do about it. I'm trying to make myself feel better." Tears were threatening and I did not want my emotions to take over this coversation.

"We're just saying, we want the old Suzy back," Jisoo said. "The one who knew who her friends were and had her eye on her goal."

"I thought I still was that Suzy. I'm not trying to act different. People around me are treating me differently now that I'm rich."

"Don't pay attention to them," Irene said.

"I'm talking about you," I said quietly. "Both of you."

Jisoo looked hurt. Her eyes were just as shiny as mine felt. "We don't want to see Jennie take advantage of you. Your new financial status and need to be popular are going to end up hurting you."

"My need to be popular?" I asked, shocked. "I don't have that need."

"But you're reveling in it, hanging out with Jennie and her friends. You seem to love all the attention you're getting at school."

"I hate the attention."

"That's not how you're acting."

"I went out to lunch with them because you guys were both busy!" I looked around but thankfully my outburst hadn't attracted attention. I was glad we were surrounded on either side by lockers; it kept this conversation more private.

"You went shopping with Jennie twice, bought a car she talked you into. Bought clothes she wanted you to buy. Even if you don't think she wrote the article, you at least have to admit that she's using you."

"How does me buying a car and clothes mean she's using me?"

"You bought the car from her dad?"

"He gave me a discount," I said.

She tilted her head in a "poor naïve girl" expression. "You think you buying that car didn't benefit him at all? I'd be curious to know how much money he saved you. How much you could've bought it for elsewhere."

I wanted to point out that it didn't matter. I had the money to spend on the car. But that probably would've just proved her point. "I'm not stupid, Jisoo," I said.

"Just a little too trusting."

"Okay, thanks for your concern." Now I was getting irritated. I could've pointed out all the times I felt like my own friends had taken advantage of me in the last month: dorm room decorations, a party I didn't want to throw, my birthday bowling game I paid for, expensive pizza. But I didn't. Because I had wanted to do those things. That didn't make me naïve. It made me nice.

Irene reached forward and squeezed my arm.

I pulled it away.

Jisoo grabbed Irene's hand, like they were a united front against me. "I feel like you weren't good enough for Jennie until you were noteworthy. Until you had the money and fame."

I closed my eyes to keep the stinging at bay.

"I'm sorry, Suzy," Jisoo said. "I just don't like to see people using you."

"You're entitled to your opinion. I'm sorry you feel this way."

"Just think about the Jennie situation, okay? We care about you. If she spoke to that reporter for notoriety or to hurt your reputation, what else will she be willing to do?" Jisoo asked.

Why did this feel like an intervention? Or an ultimatum? Was Jisoo telling me that I had to pick? Was she asking me not to talk to Jennie again? My friends were the only ones treating me badly right now,  so I wasn't ready to make that decision. I nodded before I turned to walk away. "I'll keep your warning in mind."

☘ 𝔏𝔬𝔱𝔱𝔬 𝔏𝔬𝔳𝔢 ☘

At lunch, I couldn't bring myself to search out Jisoo and Irene. They had made it clear that they didn't want me around until I was on board with their unproven theories. Plus, I needed to think.

As I walked by the commons on my way to the food trucks, I heard a voice yell out.

"Suzy!"

I almost didn't look. My name felt overused these days, people calling it out just for fun. I knew how my mom felt when one time she told me that if she heard the word mom one more time she might hide under her bed until we all figured out when we really need her.

But I did look. It was Jennie. She was waving me over to the group.

"Sit with us, Suzy," she said, pointing to an empty space on the bench in between her and Lisa.

"You guys aren't going off campus today?" I asked, walking over. Taeyang stood beside the bench looking at his phone, and Sandara was sitting on the ground in front of it.

"Jiyong is picking up a pizza and bringing it back here," she said.

Pizza and G-Dragon. More reminders of the article.

"Did G-Dragon tell you he came to a study session with me and my friends the other night?" I asked Jennie.

"G-Dragon? Kwon Jiyong? At a study session?" She laughed.

"So he didn't?"

"This is the first I'm hearing it."

So she didn't know about the underwhelming tip to the delivery guy.

I stared at the empty spot next to her, wondering what to do. If I sat down, was I making my choice? It was hard for me to believe that this was the group I was being warned against when they'd done nothing but welcome me in. My own friends were the ones kicking me out. Jealousy was a weird thing. I was learning that firsthand. I sat down beside Jennie.