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

Chapter 77: Everything and Nothing

I've gone head-to-head with politicians. I've sat across from CEOs who've spent decades trying to exploit the very people I protect.

I have fought systems.
I have built something from nothing.

And yet-There is something about him.

Something about the way he looks at me-like he already knows every move I'll make before I do-That makes the air feel thin.

And then-finally-he speaks.

His voice is smooth. Sharp. Dangerous.

"Walk away from my son."

No pretense. No deception.
Just absolute control.

I don't react.
Not outwardly.

I don't let my hands clench into fists.
I don't let my breath hitch.
I don't let him see how deep the words cut.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I say smoothly.

Kim Sungjae doesn't blink.
"I think you do."

The silence stretches.

Then-he leans forward slightly, eyes like cold steel.

"Or I will ruin you."

I have faced threats before.

Threats against the foundation. Against our work. Against me.

But this-This is different.

Because when he says it, he doesn't mean it as a possibility.

He means it as a certainty.
His next words prove it.

"I will burn your foundation to the ground."

"No one will fund you. No one will work with you."

"Every door will close before you even knock."

I go still.
Because I know.
I know he can do it.
And worse-he knows I know.

The foundation is still young.
Still fragile.

One false move, and we lose everything.
And I can take that hit.
I can rebuild.

But then-He delivers the final blow.

"And if that's not enough-I will disown Jin."

"Strip him of everything."

My breath stills.
My pulse slams against my ribs.

This isn't just about taking Jin away from me.

This is about destroying him, too.

I can take a hit.

But Jin?

Jin-who has spent his entire life trapped under the weight of his family's name-
Jin-who has fought so hard to carve out something for himself-
Jin-who has no way out-

If I stay, I doom him.
If I fight, I ruin him.

I can already see it-His family dragging him back. Controlling every aspect of his life. Cutting him off from everything that makes him him.

I see his mother's cold indifference.
I see his father's brutal precision.
I see the slow erasure of the man I love.

Kim Sungjae tilts his head.

"You are intelligent, Namjoon. I assume you understand what I am telling you."

A pause.
A test.
A dare.

I could fight.
I could argue.
I could tell him Jin isn't his to control.

But none of that matters.
Not when he holds all the power.
Not when he's already won.