As if to make things worse, the next person she ran into was Samdong. 

"Hey, what's u-" Samdong began. "Wait, what's wrong? Are you okay? What happened?" Samdong held her shoulders, showing concern. 

"Not that you would care or anything." Suzy shuddered, her tears subsiding. 

"Was it... Taec?" Samdong asked, tentatively.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Suzy asked, curiously. Her face was tear-stained and a shade of red. She had stopped crying, but she felt emotionally exhausted. She was just so sick of everything. She had escaped her horrible family but now this had to happen?

"I had a feeling he always had a thing for Eunjung. When he asked you out, I never said anything because I didn't think much of it. I probably should have said something." Samdong offered.

"No. It's okay. All guys do this to me. It's like I'm easy to take advantage of or something. Doesn't matter what age, old or young." She stated bitterly, thinking about Paul and Chunji as well. 

"Look, I don't really know if this is a good time, but... I never really apologized for anything. You were the sweetest girl to me and I guess I also took advantage of you. I'm sorry for kissing you and for being drunk. I owe you an explanation for how I changed when I got back - you were the only one who really cared for me." Samdong began to say.

Suzy looked at him earnestly, tired from all the unneccesary drama.

"After I got off the train to her new town, I rushed over to her house. It turned out that Jieun had already been there before and made friends... more than friends," he said with a hint of irony. "I saw her kissing another boy."

"She cheated on you?" Suzy asked, incredulously. Suddenly, it dawned on her who the boy could have been. 

"We're not on good terms anymore. What we had was amazing, but it just turned out way too messy in the end. I know that probably didn't make you feel any better but I hope you're going to be okay. " He offered her a kind smile.

"Thanks, Samdong. You probably saved me from being a bad person. I never got to really apologize either for kissing you. I don't know how I was feeling that day."

He placed his hand behind his neck, stretching a little. "That's the thing. I know how you were feeling. Suzy, I don't know what we have, but I know it could be something more." 

"What are we going to do? We're tangled in such a mess right now... maybe we should wait it out a little. Be best friends again?" Suzy, for the first time, decided she needed to take things slow and figure everything out first. Finally, a wise decision. 

* * * 

It was nearing the end of December and winter break was fast approaching. For this, Suzy was extremely grateful. She needed to get away from the hectic world of academics and teenage hormones. Things were finally settling down in Suzy's life. She was single, and she definitely needed to be. She avoided Taec not because she was mad at him, but more because she wouldn't allow herself to cave in to his sincere apologies just yet. She needed to be a stronger, more independent person. She deserved that much, at least.

Her and Samdong were starting to talk more again, rebuilding the old friendship they used to have. They talked in person, texted, and hung out sometimes. Occasionally, he would visit her at work. 

Suzy could detect that Wooyoung and Jieun were back at it. They were together in a secret relationship, and Suzy finally decided not to pry for once. She didn't understand why it had to be so secretive that they both could not confide in her, but she decided that when the time was right, they would reveal themselves.

The crew never got back together. Too much happened between everyone regarding relationships that things just got entirely out of hand. It seemed as if no one could stay just friends anymore.

Suzy had only been lodging at Jieun's home a few weeks when there was a knock on the door. Suzy went to open it and received the shock of her life when Madam was outside, looking as stern as ever.

"Pack your bags."

"I'm not going back with you." Suzy snapped back, making a move to shut the door. 

"Unless you want Social Services coming here and accusing Jieun's mother of kidnapping you, I suggest you come back with me. I'll give you five minutes to gather your things." Madam curtly spun on her heel and returned to her car. 

Despair overcame Suzy. She didn't want to return to her personal hell. Looks like the clock struck midnight for this Cinderella.