Skeleton || yoonmin

1

Anorexia.

"Jimin, you have to eat!" His mum yells at him. Jimin shakes his head and stares at the plate of salmon and broccoli with disgust.

His mum and dad sigh at him, disappointment washing over their bodies.

It's been 2 days since Jimin ate. The times that he does finally decide to eat, it's always a small snack of carrot sticks or fruit; something low in calories. Then he always does vigorous exercise to burn it off. Even if it's as little as 50 calories, he hates the feeling of having it in his system.

"Jimin ple-"

"No, Mum! I'm not eating!" He slides the plate off the table causing it to smash and all the food to cover the floor. He feels his eyes fill with tears before he runs out of the kitchen and up the stairs to his room.

He slams the door behind him and collapses onto his bed, tears flowing out of his eyes and onto his pillow.

This has been going on for about a month now. He would starve himself for about 3 days then have a small meal with about 6 carrot sticks and a few small bites of steak.

He's surprised be hasn't died yet. He consumes about 2000 calories a week; that's about one days worth of calories spread out across the week.

He hears his parents footsteps downstairs as they move around the kitchen, probably cleaning up the mess he's made.

He does feel bad for what he does. His mum makes him a lovely meal every night and he can't seem to bring himself to eat any of it. He sees the concern and disappointment on their faces when he opts not to eat. It breaks him inside but it breaks him more when he eats.

A small knock comes from the other side of the door followed by his dad's soft voice. "Jimin, can I come in?"

Jimin wipes his eyes dry and sits up on his bed. "Why?"

"I want a talk." His dad slowly opens the door and makes his way towards Jimin.

Jimin grabs his pillow, hugging it close to his body while he looks up at his dad's tired face.

"Your mother and I think you have anorexia." He says, Jimin tenses up at that word, anorexia.

He's heard it being thrown around at school.

"He look anorexic!"

"Wow I didn't have lunch today, I must be turning anorexic."

"Damn that girl is so skinny, she has to be anorexic."

He's only ever heard people joking around about it so it never crossed his mind that what he might have is anorexia.

"No." He simply states, his dad reaching over to him placing a hand on his back as he rubs small circles.

"You might disagree with your mum and I, but we are concerned because we care. Please, Jimin. Please can you just let us take you to the doctor to check." His dad pleads, his voice cracking slightly as his emotions get the better of him.

Jimin looks up and feels his heart ache at the visible tears in his dad's eyes. "O-okay." He whispers.

His dad quickly wraps his arms around Jimin's small body. "Thank you, son. Thank you." He whispers before pulling away and making his way to the door. "Get some rest, we'll get an appointment tomorrow." He smiles at Jimin.

Jimin fakes a smile and watches as his dad disappears.

"Why the fuck did I agree?" He asks himself in a quiet voice. He leans his head back, regret possessing his body.

After a few minutes he closes his eyes and makes an attempt to get some sleep.

---

"Jimin, wake up." His mum lightly shakes him. "We're going to the doctors in an hour, sweetie."

His eyes widen at the mention of the doctor. He feels this horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that he hates.

"Come on, get dressed." His mum pats him and leaves.

He rises to his feet and gulps.

'What have I gotten myself into?' he thinks to himself.

After a few minutes of his mind throwing tonnes of questions towards him, he makes his way to his wardrobe and pulls out a baggy hoodie and some sweatpants and makes his way to the bathroom.

---

"Park Jimin, correct?" The doctor looks at Jimin. Jimin nods his head. "I have written here that your parents think you have anorexia." He states and reads his clipboard.

Jimin fidgets around in his seat and looks over to his parents.

"Yes, we believe he may be anorexic because for a little over a month now he's been starving himself and only been eating about two days a week." His dad informs the doctor.

The doctor hums and jots down some things on his clipboard.

"I see." He mumbles. "So Jimin," he turns to Jimin and offers a slight smile. "Why is it that you don't eat?"

Jimin plays with his jumper sleeve and looks down to the floor. "Because I'm fat. I don't deserve to eat."

His mum gasps at this comment. He's never told his parents the reasons why before.

"Okay. How do you feel when you eat? Do you feel happy? Do you hate it?" The doctor asks, staring into Jimin's eyes.

Jimin squeezes his eyes shut and begins to play with his fingers. "I feel so gross when I eat. It's like I'm letting myself down."

His mum covers her mouth to prevent sobs from coming out. The doctor looks over to her and gives her a slight nod as if to say 'It's okay.'

"Jimin, do you do any sort of exercise to perhaps speed up the burning of the caloric intake?" Jimin nods his head but remains silent. "I'll be just a minute." The doctor says and leaves the room.

The room falls into silence when he leaves, his parents staring at him in shock.

They never knew it was this serious. They thought perhaps he wasn't eating due to not feeling too good. They had the thought of him being anorexic there, but they didn't believe it too much. Now it's pretty much clear to them.

The door opens and the doctors re-enters. "I have something that I'd like you to consider." He states, his eyes landing upon both his parents and Jimin himself. "There's a mental hospital that specialises in helping those struggling with eating disorders, very much like Jimin, and he'll receive the best help there. I think you should take this opportunity since it's for the best."

Jimin's mother instantly perks up.

"He's going to go."