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

Chapter 88: The Comeback Kid ⚠️

He sat at the head of the table now, flanked by all of us.

By his people.

He looked taller somehow. Straighter. His back didn't curve in on itself. His voice, when he spoke, didn't waver.

Jin oppa leaned forward, fingers steepled, his suit crisp and his expression cool-but his eyes, when they rested on Tae, burned with warmth only soulmates could share.

"Alright," Oppa said.

"The trial is set. We have three weeks."

Taehyung exhaled slowly. "Three weeks,"

he echoed, the words landing like a weight across the table. He was breathing it in, steadying himself against the tide.

Joon was the first to reach out.

His hand slid across the polished wood and settled on Tae's wrist-quiet, grounding, warm.

His thumb brushed the inside of his pulse point. Just once.

Tae didn't move away.

Yoongi, seated on his other side, gently squeezed his knee beneath the table.

"We'll be ready," he murmured, with that low, calm certainty that always helped the rest of us breathe.

I leaned forward from across the table, letting my foot nudge against Taehyung's gently.

I didn't say anything. I just was there.
And he looked up at me like he knew.

Jin's paralegal, Jisoo, cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses.

"The prosecution is strong," she said.

"The charges are airtight. We have everything we need to win."

Seojun, their civil lawyer, nodded.

"But Tae, we have to prepare you. The defense is going to come at you hard. They'll try to twist things, discredit you, manipulate your words, paint you like you're unstable."

Tae's jaw tightened. "I can handle it."

Dr. Ji Woo, his therapist, sat beside the window, watching carefully but softly.

She smiled when he said it.

And Jin-Jin oppa didn't flinch, didn't question it.

He smirked instead, proud and steady.

"I know you can," he said, his voice low and sure.

"But we're not leaving anything to chance."

He turned slightly toward Jisoo.

"Let's run through the key witnesses."

Jisoo flipped a page in her notes.

"First, Taehyung. Your testimony is the cornerstone. You'll be cross-examined heavily, so we're going to go over every potential question. Every trap. You'll also need to be emotionally prepared. They will try to rattle you."

Tae gave a single, sharp nod.

"I won't let them."

My hand found his beneath the table and wrapped around his fingers.

"And you won't be alone."

He squeezed back-tight. Not shaking.

Yoongi leaned in with a quiet chuckle.

"We'll break every table in that courtroom if they try."

Joon grinned, his eyes never leaving Taehyung.