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

Chapter 43: The Truth That Breaks Us ⚠️

Taehyung nods.
"He was so excited. He and his parents-they wanted to meet you guys."

Yoongi's breath hitches.

And when he speaks, his voice is softer than I've ever heard it.
"I can't wait to meet them too."

Taehyung's voice drops lower.
"They told me they hadn't seen me this happy in years."

A pause.
A slight hesitation.
And then-
His voice falters.

Yoongi and I both feel it.
The shift.

The way his body tenses just slightly.

Like he's bracing himself.
Like he's about to take us somewhere even darker.
His fingers tighten around mine.
And I know.

This is it.
He's about to tell us why he left.
Why he disappeared for more than a month.
Why he came back to us bruised and broken.

Yoongi and I exchange a look.
And we brace ourselves.

For whatever comes next.

___________________

Taehyung is still leaning into us, his teddy bear clutched tightly in his lap, fingers trembling against the fabric.

He's barely holding himself together.
And neither are we.

Yoongi and I don't rush him.
We don't push.

But the way his breath stutters, the way his shoulders tense-
We know.

He's about to take us somewhere even darker.

Somewhere we can't save him from.
But we'll damn well try.

His voice breaks the silence.
"The law firm called, a few hours before I left Seoul"

It's quiet. Distant.
Like he's speaking from somewhere far away.

I squeeze his hand, grounding him. "Yeah, baby?"

A sharp inhale.

"The lawyer-my parents' lawyer-passed away." Yoongi and I both held his hand. Doing our best to be there for him.

"They told me I needed to sort out the paperwork. To settle everything that was left unfinished."

Yoongi's grip tightens.

Taehyung swallows.
"So I had to go back to Daegu."

A pause.
A heavy breath.

"It was supposed to be simple."

But it never is.
Not for him.

"The lawyer who took over my case fell sick when I got there."

I frown. "What?"

Taehyung lets out a bitter laugh.
"Yeah. He told me to come back after a week. So I figured... why not visit the orphanage?"

My chest aches at the thought of him standing outside that place again.

"I hadn't been back in years," he murmurs. "The people who raised me... they were happy to see me. They told me they were proud of me."
His fingers curl into the teddy bear.

"But then... one of the directors asked me something."
His voice drops lower.

"They asked if I had ever visited my parents."

The air stills.
Yoongi and I barely breathe.

"I hadn't," he admits. "I told the lawyer years ago that I wasn't ready to know where they were buried. I denied it."