Catch 22 - JJK (21+)

Chapter 22 - Never

JUNGKOOK

"Your boss?  Well, does she normally visit your office? What did she want?"

I knew I kept piling on questions, but I needed to know what the hell was going on. I needed to hear that Aria's job was safe because I didn't know what I would do if she'd gotten hurt in any way because of what we'd done.

"No, she doesn't. It's rare that I see her at all outside of a staff meeting or something pre-planned, let alone in my office. Jungkook, I thought my heart would explode when she appeared at my door; it was pounding so fast.

My brain was screaming at me to go ahead and start packing my belongings, but my hands weren't obeying. All I could do was stand there, eyes wide, frozen in place waiting for her to utter the words. I thought for sure that she'd come to fire my ass, but then she smiled."

"She smiled?! And what did she say?"

"She'd come to inform me that there'd soon be a post on the university's website and an email sent announcing the faculty members who had been awarded tenure for the next academic year, and I was one of them. She said she wanted to shake my hand and personally congratulate me on a job well done over the past 5 years."

"Wow! She came to personally congratulate you?! That's awesome! So what exactly does that mean... to be awarded tenure?"

"Well, in most cases, it's a promotion in rank, but most importantly, it grants permanent employment, meaning you can only be fired in extreme circumstances. Once a professor has gained tenure, they're no longer forced to live, or I guess I should say teach, in a box. It allows them the freedom to throw the rule book out of the window, so to speak, so they can educate their students from a variety of perspectives and in new, more innovative ways than what the school would normally allow. In a nutshell, it means you've earned a certain level of respect at the university."

To me, that sounded like something positive, something she should be proud of, so I couldn't understand why she still sounded like someone had died.

"Well, congratulations!! That's a good thing, right? Cus you don't sound excited at all."

"It is a good thing. It's an honor, and a huge accomplishment, especially to be recognized in only five years. It can take up to seven years for most. It's a goal that I've been working hard to attain my entire career. And now that I have, it just feels like... like I don't even deserve it."

"Of course you deserve it. You are an amazing teacher who goes above and beyond for your students."

Maybe I was a little biased, but that didn't make it any less true.

"I go above and beyond alright." She laughed humorlessly, her voice now raised. "I bet Dr. Kang wouldn't have been so impressed with me if she knew what I'd been doing all weekend. In case you were unaware, Jungkook, fucking one of my students would certainly be classified as an extreme circumstance," she added, stressing the words 'fucking' and 'extreme' to make her point.

Okay, point taken.

"Aria, you shouldn't allow what happened this weekend to diminish all of your efforts over the past five years or make you feel like you haven't earned the right to be rewarded for them. Don't you think you should cut yourself a little slack?"