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

Chapter 91: The Weight of Fate

"We're in this now. He is too. He can fight it, sure. But he knows. He can feel it. We all can."

Namjoon nodded.

"Yeah. But what does that mean for us?"

The question hung in the air.

We all knew it didn't have a clear answer.

"I think," I said carefully,

"it means we need to decide what we want this to look like. Not what we expect from him. But what we expect from each other."

Tae's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... do we wait? Do we reach out again? Do we let him go for now and focus on us-this group, this connection we've built? We have to decide what kind of space we want him to come back to. If he comes back."

Yoongi was quiet again.
Then he said, almost reluctantly,

"Maybe... we don't wait. Maybe we live. Fully. Loudly. And if he finds his way back, he sees that we're not broken without him. That we want him-but we don't need him to survive."

"That sounds like you do still want him,"

Jin oppa said, a little surprised.

Yoongi glanced at him.

"I never said I didn't."

Something softened in all of us then.
It was like we were all finally being honest-not just with each other, but with ourselves.

No more pretending.
No more posturing.
Just truth.

I leaned back against the couch cushions, exhausted and cracked open, but full.

Full of something I hadn't had in days.
Hope.

"We should do something tomorrow,"
I said suddenly.

Joon looked at me. "Like what?"

"Something for us. A day out. Music. Food. Maybe even dancing if Tae insists."

Taehyung perked up slightly.
"Are you bribing me with dancing?"

"I'm bribing all of you with it," I said with a faint smile.

"We've spent so much time worrying about the bond, about him. Let's make space for joy again."

Jin oppa gave a warm, approving nod.
"I like that."

Joon cracked a smile.
"God knows we could use it."

"I'll cook," Yoongi offered, to everyone's surprise.

Taehyung blinked.

"You never volunteer, you always complain before you even do it."

Yoongi shrugged, faintly amused.

"Desperate times."

We laughed.

Not all-out,
not belly-deep-but it was real.
And it was enough.

The night stretched on after that.
We didn't talk much more about Jungkook.

Not because we didn't want to-but because we'd already said what mattered most.

The rest would come in time.

For now, we existed in this fragile, beautiful in-between. A moment where pain and love held hands quietly in the dark.

And somewhere, I knew, Jungkook was feeling that too.

Because the bond never really stopped humming. Not even in silence.