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

Chapter 44: Every Mark, Etched in Skin ⚠️

"A disappointment.You are nothing."

And then-Darkness.

____________________

It burns.

Yoongi's rage is uncontainable, like it's physically tearing out of him.

My desperation, raw.

I'm fighting to pull Taehyung back.
But-he's gone, completely consumed by the past, drowning in it.

This is vengeance.
This is grief.

"I woke up in the basement."
The words drop into the air like stones.

Sinking.
Dragging us under.

Yoongi's breath hitches.
His hands curl into fists so tight his knuckles crack.

"I AM RIPPING THEM TO PIECES!"

His voice roars, shaking the walls, shaking me, slamming into my chest like a blow.

The chair beneath him topples over as he shoots up, body vibrating with pure, feral rage.

"HOW DARE THEY LAY THEIR HANDS ON YOU AGAIN?!"

His voice breaks on the last word, like it's physically painful to say.

Like it's killing him.

His breath is erratic, his entire body coiled, ready to destroy.

"THEY BEAT YOU INTO THE FUCKING GROUND AND LAUGHED?!"

I gasp, my own hands shaking violently.
"Baby-"

But Taehyung doesn't react.
Doesn't move.
Doesn't breathe.

Because he's still there.

Still on that cold basement floor.
Still hearing their laughter.

And I-
I sob.

"TAEHYUNG."
I grab his face.
Force him to look at me.

"You are not nothing."
His lips part slightly, his breath shuddering.

But his eyes-
They are hollow.
Gone.

I tighten my grip, my thumbs brushing against his damp cheeks, desperate-desperate-to pull him back.

"You are not worthless."
"And you are definitely not like them."
A flicker.

A faint, almost imperceptible flicker of something in his gaze.
"You are loving."
"You are kind."

"And you... You are our sun, our light."
"They are the waste of space, not you."

A sharp inhale.
His body shudders.

"Don't let their darkness consume you."

I squeeze his face tighter, my forehead pressing against his, my breath coming in sharp, shaking gasps.

"Because you are loved."
"By your parents."
"By Jiwon."
"By his family."

I swallow down the ache in my throat, blinking away the burning in my eyes.
"And you are loved by us."

Yoongi is shaking beside me, his fists trembling so violently that his nails are digging into his palms, his breath ragged, his chest rising and falling in rapid bursts.

But when he speaks-
His voice is soft.
"You deserve everything, Tae."

A sharp inhale.

"Because you are worth everything."

Taehyung breaks.

His whole body slumps, his breath escaping him in a wrecked sob.

And then-
He falls forward.
Right into my arms.
I catch him.
Hold him tight.