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

Chapter 111: Before the Break Becomes A Ruin

Y/N's POV

It's Thursday. One full week since the meeting where Namjoon told me to flush my proposal down the toilet.

A week of closed doors, clipped good mornings, strained silences wrapped in routine politeness.

A week of our soulmates watching us like we're made of spun glass and stormclouds.

A week of trying not to cry in front of the team.

He hasn't apologized.
Neither have I.

But I've seen the way he lingers by the door when he thinks I'm not looking.

The way his hand twitches like he wants to reach for mine.

The way his voice softens when he talks to Ha Eun or Dara during alignment meetings and glances at me like he wishes it was me.

I know he wants to fix this.
God, I want to fix this too.

But not at the cost of abandoning what I believe in.

So I revised the proposal.
Not just to patch it up-but to make it better. Stronger. Tighter.

Every edge of it honed to surgical precision:

Time-limited map overlays.
Anonymous peer profiles.
Mandatory digital consent forms.
Triple-layered encryption routes-his encryption routes.

If I have to convince Joon the world won't fall apart because we try something different-then I'll build him a fortress of logic and hope to prove it.

___________________

EchoTech. Strategy Room.

The glass walls make the whole space feel like we're being observed under a microscope.

The table is sleek, long, lined with the usual laptops and coffee cups. Charts flicker on the big screen-UI flows, adoption forecasts, risk models.

Everyone is here.

Yoongi sits with his arms crossed, brows furrowed in quiet storm-mode. Dara is elegantly poised, fingers dancing on her tablet.

Ha Eun's chewing on a pen cap. Si Woo and Jae look wired and weary. Trina offers me a tight, hopeful smile.

Joon's seat is across from mine.
Deliberately.

He's in charcoal-gray today. Perfectly pressed, impossibly composed. Except for his eyes-those damn eyes-tired, wary, unreadable.

I swallow the knot in my throat.

Open my presentation.
Click.

Slide one.
Then two.
Then twenty.

I walk them through every safeguard, every fail-safe, every reason why SoulReach can be both revolutionary and responsible.

I speak clearly, steadily-even as my palms sweat and my heart pounds against my ribs like it's trying to escape.