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

Chapter 115: Hearts, Paws, and Patience

Tannie settled, slowly curling his tail around his paws.

Bam didn't flinch.
He blinked.

Then-softly, almost imperceptibly-shifted just an inch closer.

I felt the air shift.
Like the house itself held its breath.

Jimin, wide-eyed beside me, whispered, "I'm going to die."

"No," Tae said reverently. "They're falling in love."

And it honestly felt like they were.

Meanwhile, Kook and Hobi's studios were being finished piece by chaotic, glitter-covered piece.

Hobi's Light Shrine now glowed like something out of a Studio Ghibli dream-iridescent bulbs strung overhead casting rainbow arcs across the floor every morning.

He'd literally danced through one the other day and declared it "the gayest sunrise in recorded history."

Kook's desk setup looked like NASA and a luxury e-sports arena had a baby. Every cable was wrapped in braided black and purple cords.

His monitors purred when they powered on. The LED underglow changed color with his playlist.

We spent Sunday morning hanging final art prints-some of Tae's abstract work, a few minimalist frames Kook had thrifted, and one utterly chaotic piece Jimin made of all our initials inside an exploding heart.

No one knows if it's ironic or not.
We don't ask.

I was hammering a nail into Hobi's accent wall when Yoongi passed behind me and kissed the corner of my mouth like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Jin oppa hummed something jazzy as he wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, chin resting on my shoulder while I worked.

His breath was warm on my neck, and every time I missed the nail slightly, he whispered, "Try again, Aein," like we were defusing a bomb instead of decorating.

Joon and Kook were still arguing in the hallway over whether his external hard drives should be mounted or magnetized.

"Function over aesthetics, Kook!" Joon insisted.

"Aesthetics are a function, hyung" Kook said dramatically, gesturing with a USB cable like a sword.

Meanwhile, Jimin had stolen half of Hobi's jelly beans and was now using them as LED strip color test tokens.

That evening, the three of us-me, Jimin, and Yoongi-sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by boxes of LED strips and color samples.

Jimin leaned into me, snickering every time Yoongi fake-groaned at another tangled wire.

"You guys light up the room anyway," I teased, sorting a warm-white from a cool-blue.

Jimin turned his head, smile lazy and soft.