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

Chapter 92: Every Version of Us

But still, it stung.

My fingers twisted in my lap.

"I didn't even have to ask you, so you already knew. When?"

Ji Woo Noona's eyes softened. And then-so softly I almost missed it-she added,

"I found out recently. He mentioned Jungkook's name a couple of days ago. He's hurting. I didn't know until then."

A jolt ran through me.
I didn't say anything, but my body did.

A slow breath.
A clenched jaw.

Her voice dropped lower, threaded with something I couldn't name yet.

"He's been through a lot, hobi. Too much."

I swallowed hard. "Taehyung?"

She didn't confirm.
She didn't have to.

I could see it in her eyes-something darker than empathy.

Something personal.

Her fingers tightened around her teacup.

"All I can say is... he's survived more than I thought any one person could. But that kind of survival-it doesn't leave you untouched. It stains things. Joy. Trust. Even love."

I closed my eyes for a second, letting those words settle like dust in my chest.

I thought of Jungkook-of his trembling voice when he'd said-"I think one of them is you."

"I don't think he'd emotionally survive losing a soulmate," Ji Woo noona added quietly.

And there it was.

The weight behind her voice.
The crack beneath her professionalism.
This wasn't just about a patient.

This was about Jungkook.
About me.

About a web of hearts connected by threads too fragile to see, but too strong to ignore.

And suddenly I wasn't just Hoseok the boyfriend, or the brother, or even the seeker.

I was Hoseok, the bystander to something bigger than me.

My throat burned.

"What happened to him?" I asked, even though I knew she wouldn't answer.

Ji Woo looked down at her tea for a long moment, and then finally said,

"His uncle is in custody. His aunt turned. The legal team working the case is incredible-smart, driven, compassionate. But even with justice, the damage... it's not something time alone can heal."

I nodded slowly.

My mind painted a picture I didn't want to see.

A small boy locked in a basement.
A teenager forced to sign away his future. A man trying to rebuild a life from ash and fear and blood.

And Jungkook-My Jungkook, who had looked at that same man and said,-

"One of them is you."

It made sense now.

The tenderness.
The protectiveness.
The urgency in his voice.

He hadn't been choosing between us.
He'd been trying to hold on to both.

Noona spoke again, voice like a balm.

"You've always been light, hobi. You carry it everywhere. But even light can feel heavy sometimes, when it's trying to reach someone trapped in the dark."