Before Jimin could take another step closer to Jungkook, he was suddenly pushed aside by someone rushing into the room.

“Kookie-ah!” The voice was filled with emotion, raw and trembling. A girl—her long hair tumbling down her back—ran straight to Jungkook’s side, collapsing beside him with tears streaming down her face. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, as if she couldn’t bear the thought of letting go.

Jimin froze in place, his mind going blank. The shock of the situation left him rooted to the spot, unsure of what to do, how to feel, or what to say. His gaze flickered between the girl and Jungkook, his heart constricting painfully. He didn’t know her—had never seen her before. But it wasn’t hard to guess who she might be.

Maybe she was Jungkook’s new girlfriend.

The thought sent a sharp pang through Jimin’s chest. He had always known this day would come, but to witness it so suddenly, so unexpectedly—it was a different kind of hurt. He had come rushing here, desperate to see if Jungkook was okay, only to be reminded that Jungkook had moved on. That their lives had long diverged from one another.

“Ara, I’m okay,” Jungkook murmured, his voice soft but strained. “You need to stop crying.”

Jungkook's words were kind, gentle. He tried to push her back slightly, as if wanting some space, but it was clear he was too weak to do so. His arm, still in its cast, barely moved. But his eyes—they weren’t on her. They were on Jimin.

Jungkook's hand slowly extended toward him, as if calling out in a silent plea, wanting him to stay, to come closer. His eyes, dark with concern, locked with Jimin’s, trying to communicate something unsaid.

But Jimin didn’t move. He couldn’t. His heart was pounding, his throat tightening with the familiar ache of loss. There was no place for him here. Not anymore.

Forcing a small, brittle smile to his lips, Jimin gave a slight nod, acknowledging Jungkook’s gaze but refusing to meet it fully. He took a step back, then another, until he reached the door. His hand gripped the handle, his knuckles white as he held on for support.

He knew it then.

Whatever hope, whatever lingering attachment he might have held on to—this was the moment he had to let it go. Jungkook wasn’t his to worry about anymore. He wasn’t Jimin’s Kookie. Not anymore.

With one last glance at Jungkook, still lying in the hospital bed with the girl sobbing beside him, Jimin swallowed the lump in his throat and turned away. His heart felt heavy as he walked out, the weight of reality settling over him like a dark cloud.

And as the door closed softly behind him, Jimin finally accepted what he had been trying to deny for so long.

He was no longer part of Jungkook’s world. He was just someone from his past.

And it was time to walk away.