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

Chapter 15: Romantic Connection

This wasn't normal.

I didn't get distracted like this. I didn't focus on someone else this much.

But the idea of soulmates... that damn app.

I kept thinking back to the conversations I'd overheard in the break room, to the way Y/N had looked when she laughed.

I had felt something then, something undeniable.

The connection between us was real, even if it didn't make sense. She was more than just a colleague. But what did it mean?

There was one evening, a few days ago, when the weight of it all hit me. We were both still working, long after the others had gone home.

I had stayed late again to finish some coding, and Y/N, always the diligent worker, had stayed with me.

The office was nearly silent except for the occasional clack of our keyboards.

"Why do you stay so late?" I asked, breaking the silence. She looked over at me, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"I guess... I like getting things done," she said with a shrug, but there was something deeper there. I could see it in her eyes.

She wasn't just working to finish the tasks. She was pushing herself, like she always did.

It made me want to help her, to protect her from burning out. And that's when I realized-I cared about her.

More than I cared about anyone else.

But why? Why her?

I had been asking myself that question for days now.

And that damn app,

The more I thought about it, the more I couldn't shake the feeling that Y/N was the person it had been referring to all along.

Maybe it was because I was terrified of what the app might say. What if it told me we weren't soulmates?

What if the connection I felt was one-sided? Could I still work with her? Could I still act normal? Could I even look her in the eye?

What if she already activated it way before and it told her it was someone else? What if it did tell her its me but she doesn't want it to be me?

I had been avoiding it, thinking it was easier to pretend I didn't care, that this all had been some figment of my imagination.

The more I thought about it, the more I couldn't deny it-she was the one who had been on my mind constantly, even when I didn't want her to be.

The more I resisted it, the harder it became.

___________________

It was another long day at the office, and I was slumped in my chair, eyes glued to my computer screen.

I had just wrapped up a security patch for LoveMap when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Hey, Suga, you're looking like someone just hacked your brain. Everything okay?"
It was Juseo, my colleague and friend, always the one to break the tension with humor.

He was standing there, grinning from ear to ear, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"What do you want, Juseo?" I asked, trying to focus, but knowing full well he wouldn't let me work in peace.

"You've been staring at the app, opening and closing it, for weeks now. And I don't think it's anything related to the new security patch." He waggled his eyebrows, a playful smirk spreading across his face.