"Why... just why do you hurt me like this?" Jungkook whimpered, resting his head against the cold bathroom wall. His sobs were too intense to hold back, each one echoing the pain he felt deep inside.

All he wanted was what Jimin and Taehyung had—a soulmate. But instead, he had been manipulated, broken down by his own insecurities. Jinwoo had blamed him for everything, pinning every wrong on him. The pain of that was overwhelming. But what hurt even more was Jinwoo's final admission: Jungkook meant nothing to him, had no worth.

What Jungkook didn’t know was that Jimin was awake, needing a glass of water. As Jimin walked toward the bathroom, he paused, hearing something strange. It took a moment for him to recognize the sound—soft, muffled crying. Concerned, he followed the sound to the bathroom. The door was slightly ajar, and when Jimin pushed it open, his heart sank.

There was blood on the floor, and Jungkook was curled up in a ball, his hands gripping his hair, knuckles bleeding.

"Jungkook?" Jimin called softly. Jungkook startled, looking up with wide, tear-filled eyes that made Jimin’s heart ache.

"Baby, what happened?" Jimin asked gently, kneeling beside him and opening his arms. Without hesitation, Jungkook collapsed into his embrace, sobbing uncontrollably into Jimin's shirt. Jimin held him close, letting him cry it out.

As he comforted Jungkook, Jimin’s eyes fell on the phone lying on the bathroom floor, the screen still lit up. He caught a glimpse of the last message from Jinwoo, and anger surged through him. But he pushed it aside, focusing on the trembling boy in his arms.

"Shh, it's okay, baby. Calm down for me," Jimin whispered, rubbing soothing circles on Jungkook's back.

Once Jungkook had calmed down a little, Jimin reached for the first aid kit from the bathroom cabinet. But as soon as Jimin moved away, Jungkook's breathing hitched, panic flashing in his eyes. He brought his bloody knuckles to his mouth, but Jimin quickly stopped him.

"No, don’t do that," Jimin scolded, pulling Jungkook's hand away. Jungkook flinched, forgetting Jimin was still there. His eyes filled with tears again.

"No, no. I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to shout," Jimin apologized, pressing soft kisses to Jungkook’s nose and forehead.

Jungkook's lower lip trembled, but he didn’t say anything. He let Jimin clean and bandage his wounds.

"Can you..." Jungkook began, his voice breaking as tears slid down his cheeks. Jimin nodded, encouraging him to continue. "Can you bandage my heart?"

Jimin’s face crumpled with emotion, and he pulled Jungkook close. "My sweet boy, your hyungs are here. We’ll help heal your heart, okay?"

Jungkook clung to Jimin, crying silently into his shirt.

"Come on, let’s go to bed," Jimin said softly. "Taetae and Yoongi-hyung are there, alright?"

Jungkook nodded, feeling utterly drained. Jimin helped him up and led him to the bedroom where Taehyung and Yoongi were sleeping.

"I don’t want to disturb them," Jungkook whispered.

"Nonsense, baby. You could never disturb us," Jimin reassured him, gently nudging Taehyung. Taehyung, always a light sleeper, woke up instantly, blinking a few times before his eyes focused on Jungkook.

"Jungkook? Bun? What happened?" Taehyung asked, concern lacing his voice.

"Take care of him for a minute, I’ll be right back," Jimin said softly, giving Taehyung a look that told him everything. Jinwoo was the reason for Jungkook’s distress.

Taehyung nodded, understanding immediately, and pulled Jungkook into his arms as Jimin left the room to get some water.

Taehyung didn’t say anything, and neither did Jungkook. The only sounds in the room were Jungkook’s soft sniffles and Yoongi’s gentle snores. When Jimin returned with a glass of water, he gently encouraged Jungkook to sit up and drink.

Taehyung sat beside him, resting a comforting hand on his back and rubbing it softly as Jungkook sipped the water. Jimin subtly slid Jungkook’s phone over to Taehyung. As Taehyung read the texts, he felt anger simmering inside him. How dare Jinwoo talk to Jungkook like that? He looked up at Jimin, and they exchanged a knowing glance—they needed to have a serious conversation with Jungkook.

When Jungkook finished drinking, Jimin took the glass from him and placed it on the bedside table. Then, he knelt in front of Jungkook, carefully choosing his words. “Baby,” he began, making sure to catch Jungkook’s gaze, “Jinwoo isn’t your soulmate.”

Jungkook’s heart sank, and his eyes dropped to the sheets.

“Hey, look at me, baby,” Jimin coaxed gently.

Jungkook hesitated, then shook his head slightly.

“You don’t want to listen?” Jimin asked softly, trying to understand.

Jungkook’s eyes darted up to meet Jimin’s for a brief moment, wide with fear and uncertainty. Jimin realized then that Jungkook wasn’t rejecting his words—he just couldn’t bear to face them.

“You’ll listen, but you can’t look at me?” Jimin clarified, his voice full of compassion.

Jungkook nodded slowly, tears welling up again.

“That’s okay,” Taehyung said gently, leaning closer. “But please hear us out. Jinwoo isn’t your soulmate, Kookie. He’s just a jerk.”

Jungkook opened his mouth to defend Jinwoo, but Jimin softly interrupted him, “I know, baby. I know he’s been through a lot, but that doesn’t give him the right to tear you down and treat you like this. Taehyung and I, we argue sometimes, but have you ever seen me say anything like the things Jinwoo says to you?”

Jungkook shook his head, his voice barely a whisper. “No…”

“You’ve been amazing to him,” Jimin continued. “You’ve given him so much love, but he doesn’t understand what love is. All he’s done is wear you down and attack your insecurities. A soulmate wouldn’t do that, baby. Love isn’t supposed to hurt like this.”

Taehyung chimed in, his tone firm but tender. “You always put him first, Jungkook. You tried to heal his heart, but in the process, you’ve hurt your own. It’s time to heal yourself now. You deserve that.”

Jungkook’s voice cracked as he admitted, “I just wanted what you guys have. When I met Jinwoo, it felt like a dream come true… What changed? Was it me? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, Kookie, it wasn’t you,” Taehyung said, shaking his head. “You did everything you could. You went out of your way to make him feel loved and supported, but he took advantage of that. He didn’t appreciate you, and that’s on him, not you. It’s time to let him go, Jungkook. The longer you hold on, the more it’s going to hurt.”

Jimin added softly, “Your real soulmate—whoever they are, wherever they are—they won’t hurt you like this. They’ll cherish you, just like we do. We may not know who they are yet, but we know one thing: they’ll never make you feel the way Jinwoo does. Soulmates don’t treat each other like that.”

“Maybe… maybe the seven of us are soulmates. The universe brought us together for a reason, right?” Taehyung said, with a boxy smile.

Jungkook wiped his eyes and gave Taehyung a small smile, "I like that."

Jimin’s heart warmed and leaned in to kiss Jungkook’s forehead.

“Come on, sleep with us tonight,” Taehyung said, pulling the covers back. “We’ll talk more in the morning.”

Jungkook’s voice was barely a whisper as he admitted, “It still hurts.”

Jimin and Taehyung both held him close, their arms wrapped securely around him. “We know, baby,” Taehyung murmured. “We’re so sorry we can’t take the pain away, but we’re here for you. Always.”

“Love you, hyung,” Jungkook whispered, nestling between them.

“We love you too, Jungkookie,” Jimin and Taehyung replied in unison, their voices full of sincerity as they cuddled him on either side.

The end! 💕