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

Chapter 91: The Weight of Fate

No one rushed to fill it. It felt like we were all waiting for our hearts to catch up with our thoughts.

Taehyung stayed with his forehead against my knee for a long moment, breathing slow and steady, like grounding himself in my presence.

My fingers remained in his hair, stroking gently. I didn't say anything more-there wasn't anything else to say that words could carry properly.

Across from me, Yoongi had gone still in that way only he could-quiet but deeply alert.

His eyes were distant, but I could see the calculations working behind them.

He was connecting dots none of us had thought to draw.

"I kept telling myself it wasn't fair," he said finally, breaking the hush.

"That he was cowardly. That if he really felt the bond, he'd come running."

He looked at me then, eyes sharp, haunted.

"But now I wonder... if maybe it took more courage to not run."

I nodded slowly.

"Not running doesn't mean he wasn't feeling it," I said.

"He was. The whole time. It's like he's been holding in a scream."

Jin oppa lets out a low breath through his nose, brushing his thumb across his chin.

"Ten years," he muttered again.

"It's a lifetime. You don't just throw that away because a thread tells you to."

"It wasn't just the thread," I said gently.

"It was us. The way we called to him. The way we made him feel. That's what's scaring him more than anything. Because it means something. And if it means something, then it has weight. Consequences. Risk."

Joon closed his laptop with a soft snap and leaned back on his palms.

"I get it," he murmured.

"If the bond's as strong as we all feel it is... then loving someone else doesn't cancel it out. It just complicates everything. Splits your heart into pieces and asks you to make a map of it."

Yoongi glanced toward him.

"Poetic for someone who hasn't said two words to him directly."

Joon gave a small shrug.

"Didn't mean I wasn't watching."

Tae sat up slowly then, lifting his head from my leg. His eyes were red-rimmed but clear, searching mine for something he couldn't name yet.

"I hated him," he whispered.

"For not choosing us. For not choosing me."

I reached for his hand.
"And now?"

He didn't look away. "Now I just miss him."

There was something heartbreaking in the honesty of it. No defenses. No anger. Just longing. Raw and simple.

Jin oppa shifted beside me, his voice softer than usual.

"Do you think he'll reach out again? On his own?"

I hesitated.

"I think he wants to," I said.

"But I don't think he trusts himself yet. He's afraid that if he takes one more step toward us, he won't be able to stop."

Yoongi gave a dry chuckle, no humor in it. "Too late for that."

Everyone looked at him.

"I mean, come on," he said, gesturing vaguely.