✔️ 40 Weeks [Book 1] | Jeon Jungkook

Week 24 - Part 1

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"Suspension?!"

Hyun-Ji couldn't believe this was actually happening. Her student record had been pristine since its creation, and she was being suspended?

For being pregnant??

"For two days," Ms. Lim said, her face grim.

"But you said that there was no precedent, n-no article in the code of conduct for a student being pregnant! Why am I suspended if there is no rule against pregnancy?"

"If it were up to me, this wouldn't even be an issue, but this decision is coming from the headmistress herself. She's even considering amending the policy to create an article for this situation in particular."

Great. Hyun-Ji was going to be the reason why they added rules to the school's code of conduct, as if there weren't enough rules already.

"This isn't fair," Hyun-Ji said. "Can't I fight this?"

Ms. Lim shrugged. "You could, but what would the repercussions be? This is a private school. The headmistress can use her discretion when it comes to situations like this. You filing a grievance against her would then go to the Education Counsel for deliberation. And they're a group of old people making antiquated decisions that make my job harder than it needs to be."

Ms. Lim looked to be no more than twenty five. And she was right. The Education Counsel was a committee of ancient artifacts better suited to be observed in a museum of natural history than to make school policies on sensitive subjects.

Their version of forward thinking pre-dated
the Mesozoic era. 

"I think you have a chance at winning this fight, but what if you don't? What if they agree with her and decide that a harsher punishment is more fitting? Like barring you from graduation ceremonies, or even expulsion?

Considering what you could potentially lose, a two day suspension isn't the worst thing they could do to you."

Hyun-Ji's shoulders slumped. Ms. Lim had a point. It was only for two days, not enough time to miss a significant amount of information, plus she was allowed to collect her school work to complete while she was out. A suspension wouldn't affect her odds of being accepted into university either.

"Ok. I'll accept the suspension," she resigned. "Not like I have much of a choice."

"I'm sorry, Hyun-Ji. I wish I could do something else for you."

"Thank you. For being nice to me," Hyun-Ji said in a small voice.

Ms. Lim nodded and watched Hyun-Ji gather her things and prepare to leave. It truly was unfair that she faced disciplinary action just because she was pregnant. Headmistress Lee had shared that she thought Hyun-Ji's situation was "unacceptable" and that she "planned to prevent further damage to the school's image" in the future.

Which meant she was going to amend the students' code of conduct to allow her to expel any future pregnant students.

Headmistress Lee was smart. Expelling Hyun-Ji would surely cause legal ramification from her angry parents, but a mere suspension, especially one so short, would most likely fly under the radar. However, with the new article in place, she could cite that it was against school policy and punish any future students much harsher.