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

Chapter 50: To Stay, To Leave, To Want Anyway

I exhale, rubbing a hand over my face.
And then-I pull out my phone.

A new message from Yoongi.

I hesitate, my thumb hovering over the screen before I finally swipe it open.

My lips twitch-just slightly, just enough to notice-because there, in a simple text, is the weight of something I didn't know I needed.

Yoongi
Thanks for tonight, hyung. Really. It means a lot.

I exhale, the breath slipping out slower than I expect.

It's nothing extravagant. No long-winded gratitude, no unnecessary words-just a quiet acknowledgment. Simple. Honest.

But it stays with me.

I read it again. And then again.

A warmth unfurls in my chest, creeping up my spine, settling into the spaces that used to feel empty.

It's a strange thing-how something so small, so seemingly insignificant, can feel so solid. So real.

My fingers tighten around my phone. Just slightly. Just enough.

I shake my head, scoffing at myself, at the way my chest feels too full, at the way my lips are still threatening to curl upward.

God. I'm pathetic.

I type out a response, erasing it twice before settling on something neutral. Something safe.

Jin
You don't have to thank me. Just focus on taking care of him.

A pause.

The three little dots appear at the bottom of the screen, blinking in and out, and I realize I'm holding my breath.

Ridiculous.

Yoongi
We will. Goodnight, hyung.

I stare at the words.
And something shifts.
Something quiet. Something undeniable.

I tell myself it's nothing.

That it's just a message, just an exchange of words between two people who have only just begun to know each other.

But my fingers linger over the screen. My chest feels tight in a way that isn't uncomfortable. My throat feels thick in a way I don't want to name.

I set my phone down, dragging a slow breath through my nose, exhaling as I watch the Seoul skyline blur past the window.

This is happening.

I can pretend all I want. I can try to frame it as professional concern, as duty, as obligation.

But the truth is-
It's none of those things.

Because the moment I heard their voices, the moment I felt the weight of their trust,

Something shifts in my chest.
Something deep. Something final.

Because whether I'm ready for it or not

I'm already theirs.

And I think, maybe-
I always have been.

______________________

Y/N's POV

"Noona... hyung... this might be it for me."

I barely manage to bite back a laugh as Yoongi and I step into the Speak Yourself Foundation's event hall, greeted by the warm golden lights and the soft hum of chatter from the crowd.