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

Chapter 16: When Life Shakes You

Nari stared at me, wide-eyed, her lips parted as if she wanted to say something, but then she shook her head. "Oppa, that's... that's not true. You have no idea how much we appreciate everything you've done for us. Everything. I know it hasn't been easy, but you've been there for us in ways Dad never was. I don't care about him. It's you. You're my big brother, and I love you, okay? I love you so much. You are enough. You're more than enough. You're the reason I've been able to keep going."

Her words hit me like a ton of bricks. The relief, the love, everything I'd been holding onto for so long, it all started to pour out.

I closed my eyes, letting her words sink in.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, choking on the words. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I'm sorry I couldn't figure out how to be the brother you needed."

Nari didn't let go of me. She pulled me into an embrace, her arms wrapped around me as I sat there, unable to say anything more. "Oppa, it's okay. I'm sorry, too. We've both been so caught up in our own worlds, but we're here now. Together. We'll figure this out, okay? We're a family. I don't care what happened before. I just need you to know that we're enough. I'm enough. And I think Mom would be proud of everything you've done for us."

I held onto her for a long time, the weight of the years I had carried, the guilt, the doubts-slowly, they started to lift.

For the first time in a long while, I felt like I wasn't alone in this, that things could maybe be okay again.

I pulled away, wiping my eyes and clearing my throat. "I just want her to wake up, Nari," I said, my voice thick with emotion. "I want her to know we're here, that we're a family again. I want her to see us-whole."

Nari nodded, tears streaming down her face, but her expression was steady. "We'll make it through. Mom's strong. And so are we."

We fell into a comfortable silence, the kind only siblings can share when the world is crashing around them.

We didn't need words-just the quiet promise that we would be okay, that together, we could face whatever came next.

As I squeezed Mom's hand again, I silently prayed for her to wake up, for us to finally be whole again.

And when Nari's hand found mine once more, I knew that no matter what came next, we'd face it together.

_____________

The day seemed to stretch on endlessly, the hospital room feeling like a prison as I sat by my mother's bedside. My gaze never left her, even though I wasn't sure what I was hoping for.

I could hear the beeping of the machines, steady and rhythmic. It was both a comfort and a reminder of the fragile nature of her life now.

Each beep, each small movement, was proof that she was still here, still fighting.

But my mind... my mind wasn't entirely present.

Despite my best efforts to focus, it kept wandering. My phone buzzed in my hand, the vibration a distraction I didn't need.

It was a message from Y/N.

Y/N:
I'm praying for your mom. Everyone here in the office is too. I know it's hard right now, but we're all thinking of you.

I felt a strange pang in my chest. Her words were kind, and in another time, I might have felt comforted by them.

But right now, the guilt weighed down on me like a heavy anchor.

How could I let myself think about Y/N when my mom was lying here, fighting for her life? It didn't feel right.

The Lovemap app, the connection I thought I might feel with her-was it even real? It seemed so small in comparison to everything else, so trivial in the face of my mother's struggle.