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

Chapter 1: Unseen Threads

With a reluctant breath, I clicked the app open on my phone, the interface popping up in an instant. I scrolled through the messages from users asking for support or offering feedback. Some were happy, some had doubts. Some felt overwhelmed, like I did.

I was caught between two worlds. One where everything seemed perfect and efficient-soulmates forming bonds and relationships that were supposed to last a lifetime. And the other, where my own doubts festered like an unwelcome guest, gnawing at me from the inside out.

Then, the notification that caught my attention appeared:

You've been matched with multiple soulmates.

I froze, staring at the screen like it had suddenly become a flaming dragon ready to eat me alive.

This wasn't something I usually saw on my own profile. I wasn't allowed to pair myself with soulmates through the system-not unless I became a user, which felt like a violation of some kind of professional distance also I refuse to be a part of this. But here it was, a strange, automatic message from the system itself.

You've been connected with multiple soulmates

it said.

Explore your bonds and start your journey of shared connection.

I blinked, the words swimming in my vision. My breath caught, a small, unexpected jolt of panic prickling along the back of my neck. Was this some kind of test? A glitch? I hadn't signed up for a match.

But there it was, the system telling me what it thought I needed. Multiple Soulmates. Multiple.

"Great, just what I need-more emotional chaos, more algorithmic destiny."

I stood up, pacing the length of my small living room. My chest tightened. This wasn't right. I didn't need multiple people in my life, or anyone dictating who I was meant to be with. That was the problem, wasn't it? The idea that something, or someone, could be paired with you as if it were inevitable. As if love was something that could be designed and forced

My phone buzzed again. Another message. A follow-up from the system:

Connect with your new soulmates.

Hesitantly sat down and tapped the message open and saw seven profiles listed at the top. Six of them were deactivated-just gray dots, profiles with nothing but empty lines.

In the middle of the gray however, one profile was green. An activated one, and beside it, a name. A name I was familiar with but was too afraid to open and confirm.

A part of me wanted to swipe away the notification. Tell the app to leave me alone. But my fingers hovered above the screen. I had to know more. What was this? How could this happen without me even being involved?

I never thought I'd be one of them but here I am. The very product manager of the Soulmate app, staring at my phone screen, wondering if I should actually let this thing work.

The familiar notification pops up on my screen.

Your soulmate match is waiting.

I felt like I was going to faint or scream, or maybe both. This isn't happening, I thought. This is a glitch, right? This has to be a glitch.

I let out a deep sigh, leaning back in my chair. The lights of the city outside my apartment twinkle, but inside, there's only silence. I should be used to this by now. The loneliness. The long hours spent designing, improving the process, adding and updating features, working with the development, system architects and engineers on this app, all while ignoring my own heart's needs. My family back in my home country, the Philippines, always asking if I've met someone, always pushing me to 'activate' and see who my soulmate is.