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

Chapter 39: Drowning in Absence ⚠️

Taehyung's messages have been off for weeks-too polished, too vague, too... distant.

And this?

This doesn't feel right.

At all.

I swallow, forcing my fingers to steady before typing.

Y/N (Group Chat):
Tae, this isn't like you. You didn't even mention staying longer. What's really going on?

A pause.

Then-

Taehyung (Group Chat):
Nothing's going on! I promise. Just work. That's all.

Yoongi lets out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. "I hate this."

I reach for him, placing my hand over his. "I know."

His fingers twitch beneath mine. "He's hiding something. And I can't do anything about it."

The frustration in his voice is thick, sharp, edged with something deeper.

Something raw.

Something helpless.

I lace my fingers through his, squeezing tight. "We will do something about it. We're not letting this go."

Yoongi's throat bobs.

His grip tightens.

And as we sit there, staring at a screen that holds more questions than answers

I can't shake the feeling that this is just the beginning.

________________

Day 18

Taehyung is still not back.

And Yoongi is unraveling.

I can see it in the way his hands tremble when he checks his phone.

In the way his jaw tightens every time Taehyung sends another empty, too-perfect message.

In the way he barely eats.

Barely sleeps.

The frustration that simmered beneath the surface for weeks has turned into something deeper.

Something heavier.

Something that is breaking him down, piece by piece.

And it's breaking me too-watching him, feeling his pain, carrying my own.

Because I miss Taehyung just as much.

Because I'm scared too.

It's past midnight when I hear it.

The quiet, shattered sound of someone breaking apart in the dark.

I roll over in bed, blinking sleepily, and realize Yoongi is no longer lying beside me.
I sit up slowly, heart pounding as I scan the dimly lit room-then I see him.

Near the edge of the bed. Back turned to me.

Shoulders shaking.

His head is bowed, hands gripping his knees so tightly that his knuckles are white.

The air feels thick. Like the weight of everything has finally crashed down on him, crushing him under something he can't hold anymore.

I barely breathe as I reach for him, voice soft. "Yoongi?"

He doesn't respond.

He just shakes.

I scoot closer, placing a gentle hand on his back. He flinches.