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

Chapter 78: Breathless Confessions

—Present Day—

Namjoon's POV

I don't know when the tears started.

One second, I was speaking. The next-I was back there.

In the car.

Alone.
Breaking.

And now-now, I can't stop.
It's not just crying. It's wreckage.

A broken, strangled sound wrenches itself from my throat, raw and desperate.

My chest caves in, shuddering violently as my hands clench into fists on my lap, white-knuckled and useless.

My breath is jagged, stuttering-hitching. I can't pull in enough air, my gasps sharp and uneven, like I'm drowning in open air.

I choke on a sob, my body lurching forward with the force of it, like something inside me is being ripped open.

And then-
Warm hands.
Solid. Shaking.

Jin is in front of me, his fingers pressing against my cheeks, cradling my face like I'll break if he lets go.

His own face is wet, his breaths coming in short, hitched gasps.

His forehead presses against mine, our tears mixing, his body vibrating with the force of his cries.

"Joon," he chokes out, voice wrecked, breaking, breaking, breaking.

A strangled sob wrenches from my chest, my entire body trembling violently. I shake my head, my throat too tight to speak.

My vision blurs, dizziness crashing into me like waves. I can't-

"Joonie, baby, I'm here," Y/N noona's voice cracks behind me, thick with grief, soaked in tears.

Her arms wrap around me from behind, her cheek pressing against my spine, her whole body shaking with the force of her sobs.

I hear her gasp for air, hear the way she clutches at my sweater like she wants to tear the pain out of me and take it for herself.

A broken cry tears from my throat, wretched and desperate. I double over, shaking as I gasp for air that won't come.

My ribs feel like they're caving in.

And then-Taehyung.

Tae climbs into my lap, arms locking around my neck, his frame trembling so hard I can feel his sobs rattle through my bones. His cries are sharp, uneven, his breath coming in hiccupping gasps.

"I hate him," Tae screams, his voice wrecked, shredded by grief.

His fingers dig into my shoulders, clenching, gripping, holding on for dear life.

"I hate him so much."
His voice cracks, shatters.

He fists my shirt, his entire body lurching with the force of his sobs.

"He took you away," he gasps between cries, his breath ragged, frantic. "He took you away from Jin-hyung."

A sharp, wrecked noise punches out of me, my entire frame folding in on itself.

Because I let him.
I let him.

A guttural sob rips from my throat, my body convulsing under the weight of it.

"I'm sorry-" I choke, my voice breaking apart, splintering beyond recognition.

And then-
A hand.

Firm. Warm. Grounding.
Yoongi hyung.

His grip is tight-desperate-like if he lets go, I'll slip through his fingers.