Catch 22 - JJK (21+)

Chapter 4 - Shift

ARIA

Jungkook finally showed his face after two full weeks and three missed classes.  Normally, I would have been beyond annoyed and would have taken great pleasure in making sure he knew it, but perhaps absence does make the heart grow fonder.

I had not seen him since the day he'd left my office in a panic after receiving that phone call.  His behavior that day coupled with his sudden absence had piqued my curiosity, and I'd found myself thinking about him quite often, hoping everything was okay.

Upon entering the lecture hall, I was pleasantly surprised to see that he had not only made it to class, but he'd actually managed to make it on time. I dipped my head to hide the small smile that had betrayed my lips while quickly tucking my briefcase away under my desk.  

Throughout my lecture, I couldn't help that my attention inadvertently kept making its way back to Jungkook. I was quite taken aback by the melancholic expression he wore as he sat slouched in his seat, doodling in his notebook as he often did, frustration and upset radiating from his being.

"See you all on Thursday!" I dismissed my class with a smile as everyone scrambled to collect their things and practically raced each other to the door before I could even punctuate my statement. However, Jungkook was still lazily gathering his things and shoving them into his backpack, apparently in no rush to leave. So, I took that opportunity to question him about his disappearance.

"Mr. Jeon," I called sternly, lowering my head and peering at him over my glasses before removing them and motioning for him to come forward. "May I have a word, please?"

His irritation was evident as he tilted his head to one side as if he was cracking his neck and gave me a cold, hard stare. I could tell that his teeth were clenched by the visible shift in his jaw as he slung his backpack over his shoulder and made his way over to me.

That look in his eyes was one I'd never seen before, half intimidating and half something that made me curse under my breath, making me realize that he was a lot more than just sad or frustrated. Jungkook was mad as hell, and it was written all over his face as well as the rest of his body.

To maintain my authority and to show him that I was unaffected by his stony glare, I squared my shoulders and reined in my expression as tightly as possible while intentionally softening my tone slightly in an attempt disarm him. "Is  everything okay? I couldn't help but notice that you missed three classes in a row over the past two weeks."

Although I was tempted to mention the phone call and ask more questions, I felt it wasn't my place to pry. Especially when his body language was sending a very clear message that basically read 'fuck off, bitch' in bright, flashing letters.

"Everything's fine," he grumbled half-assedly
while avoiding eye contact with me, shrugging and folding his arms across his chest, causing the muscles in each to strain against the fabric of his snuggly fitted t-shirt.

It was both alarming and concerning how drastically his demeanor had changed over the past few weeks. He was definitely in rare form, and although he wasn't saying much, his non verbal communication spoke volumes. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that I was the last person he wanted to look at, let alone talk to, and understandably so, but I wasn't going to let that deter me.

"Your words are saying 'fine', but your energy is saying something entirely different. As you know, if there's ever anything you want or need to discuss, the door to my office is always open between 330 and 530 Monday thru Thursday."