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

Chapter 78: Breathless Confessions

I don't know how long we stay like this.
Wrapped around each other.

Crying.
Holding.
Loving.

But it's long enough.

Long enough for the weight to start to lift.

I exhale.
Jin hyung does too.

Then, softly-so softly-Yoongi hyung pulls back just enough to look at me.

His hand finds my face, cups my cheek.
His thumb brushes away my tears.

But his eyes-his eyes are fierce. Unyielding.

The storm inside them is no longer just rage or sorrow. It's something sharper. Something immovable.

His grip tightens on my arms, like he's grounding me, like he's making sure I hear every word when he finally speaks.

"It's different now, Joon," he murmurs, voice raw but steady. "It's not just the two of you fighting him anymore."

My breath catches.

Yoongi hyung leans in, his forehead brushing against mine, his hands firm on my shoulders.

"It's all of us now. All of us fighting this. Together."

His voice cracks at the last word, but his conviction doesn't waver.

A shuddering breath stumbles out of me. My chest still aches, still tight, but the weight isn't as crushing now. Not with his words sinking into me.

And then-Y/N noona.

Her hands slide down my back, her touch steady, sure. "He doesn't get to win, Joon," she whispers, voice thick with something fierce.

"Kim Sungjae doesn't get to break you, Oppa. Or us." Her fingers fist into my sweater, her grip warm, solid.

"No matter what he's done, no matter what he thinks he's taken-he'll never be able to break you and oppa again. He'll never be able to break us."

A fresh wave of emotion crashes through me, but it's different this time.

It's not wreckage-it's warmth. A slow-burning fire in my chest.

And then-Taehyung.

Tae, who is still wrapped around all of us, his face pressed against my shoulder, his body trembling with the aftershocks of his sobs.

But then-he sniffles, clears his throat, and mutters, "Yeah. And, honestly, if he thinks he can break us, he must have never seen me drunk on three hours of sleep. That's some real chaos."

A strangled sound punches out of Yoongi hyung.

Jin hyung lets out a breathy laugh, shaking his head. Noona groans, her forehead dropping against my back.

And me-
Something tight in my chest eases, just a little. The first ghost of a smile tugs at the corner of my lips.

Taehyung lifts his head, a grin threatening to break through the redness of his tear-streaked face. "I mean, I'm just saying. If Sungjae saw me at my worst, he'd be running for the hills."

Jin hyung huffs out a laugh. "Oh, trust me. We've all seen it, and we barely survived."

Tae pouts, but there's a mischievous glint in his eyes, a sliver of light cutting through the shadows of grief.

And then-Jin turns to me.
Something shifts in his expression.
Softens. Deepens.

His fingers trail up my arm, then cup my jaw. He tilts my face toward him, and suddenly, it's just us.