KLEPTOMANIA (YOONMIN)

ONE

Jimin looked around to make sure no one was watching before quickly snatching a packet of tampons.* He shoved them in his jacket pocket before hurrying out of the shop.

He'd made it to the door when someone grabbed his shoulder, making him jump and spin around. Jimin came face to face with a frowning woman and he immediately knew he'd been caught. She was silent for a few seconds, allowing Jimin's guilt to intensify as he prepared himself for the punishment that was soon to follow.

"Now what is a young man like you doing stealing tampons?" The woman asked, and Jimin flinched. The flinch was purely reflexive, as he'd worked himself up into a state preparing for a much harsher punishment. He frowned when he realised it hadn't come.

"My sister needs them." Jimin quickly said, the lie rolling off his tongue like it was second nature. And it was. "She told me to pick some up on the way home from school, but I'm a little short on cash at the moment and couldn't pay for them."

"So you decided to steal some instead?"

"Please, ma'am, it's her second day. She really needs them." Jimin could feel his cheeks burning red, from both the embarrassment of getting caught and from the lie he was telling. He didn't even have a sister.

"How about this; I'll pay for these ones, and you pay me back when you've got the money." The woman said as she pulled her purse out of her handbag.

"Oh, no, it's fine. I'll just put them back." Jimin said quickly, waving his hands out in front of him. "My sister can probably survive the time it takes for me to grab some money and actually buy some."

"Are you sure? If it's her second day, the flow might be pretty heavy. She might need them." Jimin shook his head, his cheeks growing warmer. A girl's period was not something he particularly wanted to be discussing.

"She's got some at home, this was just so she didn't run out... Honestly, I'll be fine. Here, I'll put them back." Jimin pulled the packet of tampons from his pocket and walked back to where he'd gotten them. He placed them back on the shelve, his other hand quickly swiping a smaller packet from the lower shelf. He put that in his pocket as he returned to the woman, forcing himself to smile.

"You put it back?" Jimin nodded and the woman began to smile, placing her purse back in her bag. Her smile caused her to look a bit younger and prettier. "I won't tell the owner this time, just make sure you bring money next time."

"Thank you, thank you." Jimin said, bowing over and over in an attempt to express his gratitude. His father didn't like Jimin's habit of stealing things and didn't quite understand that Jimin couldn't control it. Had Jimin been caught again, he probably would have had to have faced some serious consequences. Maybe even a beating.

The woman and Jimin parted ways, and Jimin hoped he never saw her again. As he walked back home, guilt began to eat at him, the pocket that held the tampons growing heavier with each step. The thrill of stealing had gone, and now Jimin was just left with the guilt.

Jimin didn't mean to steal, and he tried not to. But the desire was too strong, the emotions he felt prior to any theft to great to be ignored. He had to steal to satisfy these, but this in turn brought on the waves of guilt and whatever else came with the theft. Sometimes Jimin returned the things he stole, sometimes he shoved them in his little secret place under the bed.

He never needed the things he stole, and they were never things he could sell for a lot of money. And he could never control when the desires struck, he just stole. No matter how hard he fought them, they always would win.

Jimin wasn't strong enough to fight the urges, and he wasn't strong enough to admit something was wrong with him.
Jimin was weak, he'd come to accept that.