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

Chapter 46: From Wounds To War ⚠️

"More than anything," Yoongi said, no hesitation in his voice.

I nodded. "But not without you. This isn't something we're doing for you, Tae. It's something we want to do with you."

Yoongi's voice softened, something raw slipping through the cracks of his usual calm.

"We would never do anything that you don't want. But we also can't sit back and do nothing. Not when we know what they did to you. Not when we know they're still out there, living their lives like they didn't try to destroy you."

I squeezed Taehyung's hand. "This decision is yours. You don't have to make it now. You don't have to make it next week. Take as much time as you need. Whenever you're ready-whatever you decide-we'll respect it."

Taehyung didn't answer right away. He just nodded slightly, his eyes fixed on the table, expression unreadable.

But I saw it-the way his fingers curled against the glass, the way his shoulders tensed just slightly, the way his breath came just a little too slow, too careful.

It wasn't fear.
It was something deeper.

Something like... the slow unraveling of a belief he had carried for too long. That fighting back wasn't an option. That justice wasn't meant for him.

And now, months later, as we sit curled up on the couch, that same quiet war still lingers in his eyes.

But something shifts.

His grip tightens around my hand, just slightly. He lifts his gaze, searching both of ours, and I see it-that same hesitation, but this time, there's something else there, too.

Something like resolve.
Something like the first flicker of defiance against the people who tried to break him.

Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, he says it.

"Okay."

Yoongi and I don't let go.

We hold onto him, hands gripping tighter, anchoring him to this moment, to this decision.

And for the first time, I see it-really see it.

The shift.

The moment Taehyung chooses to fight back.

Not just survive. Not just move forward. But reclaim what was taken from him.

To demand justice, not just healing.
To stop running and start standing his ground.

And in that moment, I know-no matter what comes next, no matter how messy or difficult or painful-he won't face it alone.

We'll be with him.
Every step of the way.

___________________

Justice isn't supposed to feel this slow.

Three weeks.

Three weeks since Taehyung made his decision.

Three weeks since we sat on that couch and held his hands, promising him that we would see this through.

Three weeks since he signed the papers, officially taking the first step toward reclaiming everything they stole from him.

And yet-nothing.

No progress. No updates. Just vague reassurances from our lawyer that it's a difficult case, that these things take time, that they're doing everything they can.

But it doesn't feel like they are.

It feels like we're stuck. Like we're screaming into a void, waiting for something-anything-to happen.