Jimin sat on the bathroom floor, back against the cold tile, arms wrapped around his knees like it was the only way to hold himself together. The lights were off. He didn't need to see his reflection tonight. He already knew what it would say.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, not even sure who he was apologizing to. Maybe the version of himself he used to be. Maybe Niko. Maybe no one at all.

His voice was hoarse, like he'd screamed into pillows too many nights in a row.

"They think I'm worthless." His lips barely moved. "My parents. They don’t say it outright. But I see it every time they look at me."

His chest tightened, breath catching somewhere between a sob and a sigh.

"I can’t keep up anymore. The grades, the expectations… it’s like I’m chasing something that was never meant for me."

He let his head fall back against the wall. His fingers were shaking.

"I lost everything, Niko. I was trying so hard to hold it all together and I lost… me."

His voice dropped lower.

"And that night—" he swallowed hard, nails digging into his sleeves. "It happened so fast. I didn’t fight hard enough. I froze. And after it was over, I just… walked home like I was still a person."

His throat closed up. For a long moment, all he could do was sit there in the dark, letting the silence speak for him.

"I didn’t tell anyone. Not even you. I thought if I kept it locked up, maybe it wouldn't be real."

Tears slipped silently down his cheeks, soaking into the fabric of his shirt.

"But it is real. And now it’s always there. In everything I do. In how I flinch, in how I hate being touched sometimes, even by you."

He looked up toward the door, knowing Niko was probably on the other side, worried, listening.

"I’m not who I used to be. I don’t even know who I am anymore."

His voice broke completely, soft and shattered.

"Please don’t give up on me. I know I’m a mess. But I… I still want to be here. Somehow."

He pressed his forehead to his knees, body trembling, the weight of it all finally too much to carry alone. And for once, he wasn’t hiding.