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.

-

"Are you hungry?" Mrs Park asked, noticing Jimin's untouched dinner. Jimin shook his head, pushing the food around his plate. "You don't have to eat it if you don't want to."

"Thank you." Jimin said quietly, his voice barely louder than a whisper as he stood up and walked over to the bin. He dumped the uneaten food in the bin before rinsing his plate and silently leaving the room. Once he was gone, Mrs Park sighed and slumped in her chair, pushing her own food around her plate as she worried about her son.

This was the fifth night this week that he had barely touched his food. She'd lost count of how many times that was in total.

Mrs Park could see her son wasting away right in front of her, but she couldn't do anything about it. He refused to admit anything was wrong and his father was no help. He wouldn't pay for any psychologist because he also refused to accept that his son was sick. So all Mrs Park could do was pray that somehow he got better, though she knew this was pointless.

Simply praying wouldn't make him better...

Mrs Park sighed and got up herself, chucking the remains of her own dinner in the bin and began washing up. She glanced up at the clock, wondering how long it would be till her husband came home.

Probably late, just like every other night.

She stared down at the growing bubbles in the sink, waiting for the water to rise up high enough in it. Once it had, she turned the tap off and picked up the first plate, plunging her hands in the scalding heat as she began to clean up...

Inside the bathroom, Jimin stood on the scales, watching as the numbers grew higher. And then they stopped.

55 kilograms

Jimin frowned as he stared at the numbers, as though just staring at them would make them go down.

"I've gained weight..." He muttered, stepping off of them and moving to in front of the mirror. He stared at his reflection, taking in the chubby cheeks, the too fat (in his opinion) body, and large thighs. He sighed, his shoulders slumping as he rubbed his eyes, moving away from the mirror. He could feel the panic rising up inside of him; he'd been careful with what he'd eaten, but somehow it wasn't enough. "I've been careless, I shouldn't have eaten so much..."

Jimin left the bathroom and walked back to his bedroom. Once the door was closed behind him, he pulled his shirt and pants off so he was in his boxers and hopped in his blankets. He stared at the ceiling as he lay there, before remembering the box of tampons were still in his coat pocket.

Not wanting to have that conversation with anyone, Jimin turned his lamp on and crawled out of bed. He hurried over to his coat and searched around till he found the pocket the tampons were in. He then grabbed them and crouched down next to his bed, feeling around till his hands hit a box. He pulled it out, realised it was the wrong one and shoved it back deeper underneath the bed. Grabbing the right one, he pulled it out and opened the lid.

Staring down at the many stolen objects, he felt guilt fill him again. He quickly chucked the tampons in the box and closed it, pushing it back under the bed. He climbed back underneath his blankets and closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep.

Tomorrow was the first day back at school, and he wanted to have a good nights sleep before the stress started again. It wouldn't do to be tired and stressed, especially not when he also has to try not to appear as a freak to everyone else.

Not that that ever worked, he always managed to stuff things up...

-

Jimin walked down the corridor filled with students, nervously looking around. His hands gripped the straps of his bag tightly as he tried to keep his cool. Students laughed and chatted away, oblivious to the kleptomaniac in their presence.

Had they known, they might have protected their things a bit better...

Jimin quickly escaped the corridor and turned off into a quieter one. This one led to the dorms, which was where Jimin would be spending the rest of his school year (minus holidays). He was worried, given he'd be surrounded by students 24/7, but he was also grateful that he'd been given a single room. He didn't particularly want to explain accidentally stealing his roommate's socks or something.

Jimin paused outside of an open door, staring into the quiet room inside. He could hear the faint sounds of a shower running and the murmurs of someone's voice coming from the bathroom connected the room.

He could feel the urge to steal bubble up inside of him and he fought to suppress it. He quickly looked around to make sure no one was around, not wanting to seem like a weirdo as he stood outside some random guy's bedroom.

After a little bit of struggle, Jimin snuck into the bedroom. He looked around the room before crouching down on the ground and picking up a pen that he saw lying there. When he looked back up, his eyes widened and he dropped the pen in shock.

During his creeping around the room, Jimin had forgotten to listen out for the shower. The boy who lived in the dorm had hopped out of the shower while Jimin was distracted, and now stood dripping at the door, only wearing a towel around his waist. His peachy orange hair was still wet, causing water to drip down his face. The boy frowned at Jimin, who was silently cursing his stupidity and kleptomania.

"What are you doing crouching on my floor?" The boy asked eventually. "Haven't you heard of knocking?"

-

-

-
*Unlike typical shoplifters, people with kleptomania don't compulsively steal for personal gain, on a dare or out of rebellion. They steal simply because the urge is so powerful that they can't resist it.

Which is why Jimin stole tampons.