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

Chapter 93: The Stand & the Shadow ⚠️

"Can you tell the court, in your own words, what your life was like under Mr. and Mrs. Choi's care?"

Tae inhaled. Then he spoke.

"It wasn't a life," he said quietly. But there was no weakness in it. Just truth.

"They didn't raise me. They owned me."

I felt Namjoon shift beside me, exhaling slowly. Yoongi's hand tightened around mine.

Jin oppa held Tae's gaze, nodding once.

"I was eight years old when my parents died," Tae said.

"I thought I was going to a home where I'd be safe. But from the moment I arrived, I was treated like a burden. Like I didn't deserve to be there."

Jin oppa's voice was steady, coaxing the truth out like a slow-moving tide.

"What do you mean by that?"

"At first, it was little things. I wasn't allowed to eat unless they said so. I wasn't allowed to play, or make noise, or ask for anything."

Tae's voice began to harden.

"Then it got worse."

My throat burned. Joon rested his hand over my knee.

"They beat me," Tae said, gaze locking onto his uncle. "He beat me."

A wave of murmurs swept through the gallery.

"You locked me in the basement. You let me starve. You made me sign away my inheritance. You told me my parents didn't love me. That I was worthless. That I had no future outside of you."

Mr. Choi's mask cracked-just a fraction-but it was enough. Oppa saw it. So did I.

"Objection!" the defense attorney barked.

"Emotional claims, no substantiation-"

"The prosecution has medical reports, financial documentation, and multiple witness statements corroborating these claims,"

Jin oppa responded sharply, cutting through the interruption.

The judge didn't even blink.

"Objection overruled."

"Please, Taehyung," Oppa said, voice softer now. "Continue."

Tae took a breath. He was trembling, but it wasn't from fear. It was fury. It was control.

"You stole everything from me," he said, his voice cutting through the silence.

"And now, I'm taking it back."

Another ripple of shocked murmurs.
The judge tapped her gavel once for quiet.

I glanced at Yoongi, whose eyes were wet but fierce. Namjoon leaned forward slightly, his expression unreadable but his energy vibrating with quiet pride.

Tae stood taller.

The defense attorney adjusted his suit, and with a mask of politeness said,

"Mr. Kim, you say you were denied meals and basic care, but isn't it true you were enrolled in school and provided shelter?"

Tae didn't flinch.

"I was enrolled in school because the law required it. I was given shelter the same way you'd keep a pet in a cage."

The defense blinked.

"But you didn't report any of this until recently. Couldn't that mean these claims are exaggerated?"