KLEPTOMANIA (YOONMIN)

TWENTY-SIX

warning: there's some self harm in this chapter so, you know, don't read if it'll trigger you or make you uncomfortable or something.

It was an awkward dinner as Jimin and his parents ate in silence. Mr Park watched his son push his food around the bowl, taking in his skinny appearance.

"What's that school feeding you? There's nothing on you." Mr Park remarked, his voice making Jimin flinch. Mrs Park glared at him briefly, annoyed that once again he was blaming someone else rather than accept that his son wasn't well.

"Just.. normal stuff." Jimin said as he placed his chopsticks down, sitting up. "I'm not hungry, could I please be excused?"

"No, you've barely touched your food and this is the first night in a while that we've been able to spend as a family, you're not leaving until every single thing in that bowl is finished and everyone else has too." Mr Park frowned at his son. "Your mother spent a lot of time preparing this meal, the least you can do is eat it."

So Jimin slouched back down, forcing down mouthful after mouthful and answering his father's questions with brief or one-worded responses. He felt sick, and he was beginning to regret not being able to go to Yoongi's.

-

"So tell me how's school been going." Mr Park said after dinner, still not letting Jimin leave. Jimin fidgeted uncomfortably, his stomach already disagreeing with the food that he'd just eaten.

"I, uh, I made some friends. And.. my classes aren't that bad, I have a nice teacher in one - Mr Jo--"

"Mr Jo carried Jimin to the nurse's office when he fainted." Mrs Park said, giving a pointed look to Mr Park.

"Why did you faint?" Jimin shrugged. He didn't really want to have this conversation with his father, it made him uncomfortable and Mr Park would never understand. It'd been a hard enough conversation trying to explain to him that Jimin liked a boy, it'd be even harder to explain to him that maybe his son wasn't so perfect.

"I didn't get a good sleep, I was just too tired." Jimin lied, looking down at his lap. "I'm feeling tired, could I please go to bed?"

"It's only seven o'clock." Mr Park said as he looked at the clock. Jimin shrugged again. "Well, tomorrow we'll be able to spend it as a family anyway, so if you really have to."

"Thank you." Jimin said as he got up, quietly leaving the room. He hadn't even made it to the bedroom and he could already heard the hushed voices of his parents arguing. He knew what they were talking about, he'd heard this argument enough times to tell.

Jimin entered the bathroom and instantly rushed to the toilet. Shoving two fingers down his throat, he retched. Tears pricked his eyes as he vomited up the dinner, his body shaking as the harsh aftertaste of vomit was left in his mouth. He sobbed.

Washing himself up, Jimin went back to his room to go get his pyjamas before he had a shower. He hesitated as he stood beside his bed, looking down at it. He then crouched down, reaching under to pull out the two boxes underneath.

He opened one lid, revealing the many things he'd stolen. He shoved that one back under and picked up the second box. Wrapping his pyjamas around it, he returned to the bathroom.

-

Now, Jimin had been good. He'd left the box at home, in the hope that maybe if he didn't have it he wouldn't be tempted to use it. And he hadn't. But now, with the box being there and after having to deal with his father, Jimin couldn't help himself.

Jimin hesitantly pulled out one of the razors, feeling guilty as he stared at it. It shone under the bathroom light; promising a relief from all the pain, a way to release all the pent-up emotions.

Tears began to fall from his eyes as he cut into his wrist, blood rising from the fresh cut. Another cut was added to the collection of scars, but at least Jimin was distracted from everything else.

His phone vibrated from the pocket of his jeans, and he jumped. The razor clattered against the floor as he looked at his phone, and he reached over to pull it out. Blood was dripping down his arm, but at the sight of the caller ID, Jimin answered it.

"Sorry for bothering you, Jimin, but I missed you." Yoongi said when Jimin answered, sighing softly over the phone. "Mum's been bothering me about things, and I wanted to hear your voice."

"Are you okay?" Jimin asked as he stood up, turning on the tap and shoving his cut arm underneath it. The blood turned the water red, but he ignored it as he focussed on Yoongi's voice. He was worried that somehow Yoongi might be able to tell what had happened, and so he decided to stop, for now at least.

"Yeah, it's nothing really. It's just, she wants me to be successful and get a good job when I'm older, and I do too. But our opinion on what's makes a job good and successful are two very different things." Yoongi sighed, and Jimin felt bad. He was meant to be the sad one, not Yoongi. Yoongi shouldn't be sad, it just wasn't right. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to put this all on you. How are you?"

"Fine." Jimin glanced down at his wrist.

"Is that Jimin-talk for 'I'm really not okay' or actually fine?"

"I'm fine, hyung. I'm just a little tired, and about to have a shower. I'm literally in the bathroom." Jimin turned the tap off, hoping Yoongi would get the hint and let him go.

"Are you naked?" Yoongi chuckled slightly.

"Hyung," Jimin said warningly, making Yoongi sigh.

"Okay, okay. Just call me when you get out, I want to talk to you."

"Bye hyung."

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