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

Chapter 93: The Stand & the Shadow ⚠️

This courtroom was built to dismantle people-but we had built something stronger.

Love. Real, ferocious love.
And the truth we all bled to protect.

The first witness was Dr. Lee Minseok, the trauma specialist who had treated Tae when the world still tried to pretend his pain wasn't real.

Jin oppa approached the stand, all poise and power.

"Dr. Lee, can you describe the first time you treated Kim Taehyung?"

Dr. Lee nodded, face tight.

"He was fourteen. Brought in late one night with a broken rib, bruising, and a concussion."

Jin oppa tilted his head slightly.

"And the explanation given for those injuries?"

"Falling down the stairs." Dr. Lee didn't hide the bitterness in his voice.

"But I've seen what stairs do. These weren't those injuries. These were controlled. Intentional. Abuse."

Taehyung flinched, and I immediately gripped his hand tighter.

Joon leaned forward, resting his forehead gently against the back of Tae's shoulder. Yoongi's thumb traced circles into his arm.

Jin oppa didn't miss a beat.

"You reported it."

"I did. But without more evidence, there was nothing the hospital could legally pursue."

"But you knew."

"I knew."

So did we.

Then, the nurse. Yoon Jihae's hands trembled as she held her statement.

"He wouldn't speak. He looked like he wanted to disappear into the walls. I tried to reach him. I told him he could trust me."

Tae's breath hitched. I saw the memories flash behind his eyes, the way they haunted him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered directly to him.

"I couldn't protect you then."

Tae's eyes were wet. "You see me now."

Beside him, Yoongi exhaled shakily. Joon squeezed my hand.

Jin oppa gave Nurse Jihae a soft nod, then moved on.

Attorney Nam Kyunho took the stand next.

Sharp, older, furious in the quiet way lawyers can be when they've waited too long for justice.

"The original will left everything to Kim Taehyung," he said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"To be held in trust until his eighteenth birthday."

"And was that honored?"

Oppa asked, voice like ice.

"No," Kyunho said, seething.

"The will was changed-illegally. Forged. Fraudulent. Mr. Choi had no right."

My heart slammed against my ribs. Taehyung's jaw clenched.

Oppa's smile was quiet but lethal.

"You're saying he stole Tae's entire inheritance?"

"Yes."

Joon lets out a slow breath behind me, low and controlled-but I knew that sound. It was the sound of him holding back rage.

Not because he couldn't express it, but because his love for Tae was the stronger fire in that moment.