DREAMLIKE ✔️

- KANG HYEWON -

[TW] - Eating Disorder

Snap!

"This is what your photo looks like, we can retake them if you don't like them."

The little kid awed at the pictures a chocolate-haired photographer showed them, "it looks good, thank you Hyewon-nim."

Hyewon gave the kid a smile, glancing up as they left, "next!"

Half of the college senior's day went on like that, an elementary school's picture day was no biggie for the part-time photographer.

During her team's break, she went off to the side, leaning against a chain-link fence while looking through the pictures she took with a nearly finished lollipop in her mouth.

"Next class is coming in five minutes!"

Hyewon pushed off the fence as one of the lead staff called out to the group of photographers that were outside with her, throwing away the stick before heading back inside.

...

...

...

"Excuse me!"

The college student turned around as she was about to enter the team's van at the end of the school day, seeing an older elementary school student run up to her.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to say you took very good pictures."

Hyewon smiled, "thanks kid."

"I want to be a cool photographer too when I'm older, like you!"

The chocolate-haired girl chuckled, "I'm sure you'll be a great photographer later on."

She dug into her school hoodie pocket, handing the student a lollipop, "and do good in school alright?"

"Nae~"

With a wave, Hyewon went inside the van, letting out a silent sigh as she sat down at the back.

'You don't want to be like me...'

With nothing else to do for work, Hyewon took the bus back to her single dorm, lightly greeting a few college students who said hello as she walked to her room.

She set down her camera bag on top of a drawer she had next to her desk, the wooden frame having bits and pieces of duct tape that were poorly ripped apart from the small doors of the drawer boxes.

Hyewon turned on her laptop, wanting to turn it back off and lock it away after seeing all the work she had to do for school. She opened a drawer and took out a bag of chips, beginning to munch on them as she opened up an assignment.

~ ~ ~

"There's so muchhhhhh..."

Hyewon clutched her head with both her hands as she stared at the computer screen, stress already overflowing from the amount of work she already did, and the work and studying she needed to do.

She gnawed at a piece of beef jerky, another thought slowly crawling into her brain.

She ignored it, grabbing another piece of food after another as she willed the small words on the screen to stop blurring.

"You know what, fuck it."

She closed the computer, she'd do it later.

Hyewon glanced at all the food around her desk, an upset feeling stirring within her as she threw away all the trash.

Her stomach wasn't upset, but as always after something like this happened, she felt terrible.

She pulled out a roll of duct tape, knowing that if she didn't cut off her supply, she'd end up eating everything in the span of a few hours...

Which would actually make her sick.

Pulling the tape past the previous attempts of closing the drawer, she taped it shut, doing the same thing to the refrigerator in the little kitchen.

As she went back to her room, her eyes immediately went to the duct taped drawer, wanting her stress to die down, craving something to push down all those negative emotions.

She turned away, turning off the lights as she crawled into bed, "you ate too much today."

'Sleep removes all my thoughts...'

She snuggled deeper inside the blanket, closing her eyes in hopes that sleep would find her soon...

____

KANG HYEWON

22

5'4

College senior

Part-time photographer

Doesn't have a lot of close friends, only a few acquaintances from classes

Likes the silence of being alone

Has an eating problem she hides from others

Loves food but there's many times where she starves herself because she feels like she ate too much after a stress/binge-eating session

Eunbi is the first to notice this in IZ*LAND so she tries to help her with it