Stigma Love's Algorithm [ A BTS x Reader Poly ]

Chapter 1: Unseen Threads

EchoTech, a cutting-edge tech company based in Seoul, skyrocketed to global fame with the release of its groundbreaking innovation:

LoveMap.

The app, an AI matchmaking tool, promised to find you your soulmate. No more guesswork. No more awkward dates.

LoveMap's algorithm was flawless, according to the PR team, confirmed soulmate connections based on deep compatibility, ensuring that when it said "soulmate," it meant the one.

I moved to Seoul in 2018, bright-eyed and eager to help build this revolutionary app.

By then, EchoTech had already made a name for itself as a leader in tech innovation.

I jumped on board as a product manager, excited by the idea of designing something that would improve emotional well-being and societal stability.

The first few years were exhilarating. People loved the app.

Matches were being made left and right, and the idea of building deeper emotional connections was, well, kind of amazing.

But then the world really took notice.

By 2023, LoveMap wasn't just another app on your phone-it had become the app.

So much so that the government decided it should be mandatory. Yeah. Mandatory.

Account and Profile creation? Government-enforced. The only thing left to a person's control was the activation of their profiles.

It was about societal harmony, they said. About reducing loneliness, lowering divorce rates, and making sure everyone got their emotionally stable, government-approved connections.

The year is 2025, I glanced at the blue glow from my computer screen, reflecting off the darkened room.

My fingers hovered over the keyboard, but I couldn't bring myself to type anything.

Every day, I logged into the system, running diagnostics, checking compatibility scores, testing the algorithm to ensure it continued making matches at a record pace.

But today felt different. It was like I could feel the weight of every decision we'd made hanging in the air.

"Stop it, Y/N," I muttered to myself, pushing my messy hair out of my face. "It's just another day of system checks."

It wasn't the usual pang of guilt that gnawed at me when I thought about the thousands of people I helped pair with their soulmates.

No, it was something deeper.

Something unsettled.
Something that had been growing for months.

I leaned back in my chair and sighed, watching the rhythm of the live usage dashboard stream across the screen.