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

CHAPTER 129: An Empty Tree

Jin oppa’s hand presses softly to the table, no longer steady.

Hobi’s watching like a storm about to weep.

“But please...don’t ever—ever—make me choose again between protecting someone’s dignity… and loving you.”

The silence afterward is almost cruel.
Even the walls feel like they’re listening.

Bam rises slowly, ears back, and walks to me. No urgency—just the kind of gentle, wordless loyalty that only dogs seem to understand. He presses his head against my thigh, grounding me like always.

Wacha hops back up to the table, curling next to Jin oppa like nothing could pull her from this moment.

Tan leaps softly from Hobi’s lap to mine, settling in my arms like a comma in a sentence that still needs finishing.

Joonie rises. Quiet. Measured.

He walks over and takes my hand—not just like someone offering comfort, but like someone asking permission.

I let him.
He squeezes.
Once. Gentle.

Like a reset button I wish I could press.

“What do you need right now?” he asks.

I breathe in.
And I don’t lie.

“Space,” I say honestly.

He nods. Doesn’t argue.
Doesn’t flinch.
Just lets my hand go.

I start toward the hallway, the air colder than it was a moment ago. Bam follows, close behind—until I pause and kneel down.

“I need to go alone, baby,” I whisper to him, scratching behind his ear.

He stops. Doesn’t follow.

Just lays down where he is, head on his paws, eyes tracking me like a guardian too loyal to ignore.

Tae steps into my path.

Not blocking me.
Not stopping me.
Just… there.

He doesn’t speak.
His hand lifts slowly—tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.
His touch is featherlight. Respectful.

This one says: I know. I’m sorry. I see you.

I nod once.
And then I go.

Jin oppa’s voice comes next. Low. Threadbare. “Aein…”

Then Hobi from the bench he's sitting on,
A broken, “Noona—”
I don’t answer.

Jungkook doesn’t call out.
But I feel him.

Like a gravity I can’t shake. A tether that stretches and aches and nearly snaps as I pass him.

He doesn’t reach for me.

But his silence? It hurts.
Because I know it’s not empty.

It’s everything he wants to say but doesn’t know how. Everything he should have said before.

And still—I don’t look back.

Because tonight?
I just need the door to close behind me.

____________________________

Hoseok's POV

The door to her room clicks shut.
It’s soft.
But it feels louder than Gabriel’s exit.

He walked out like a guest.
She disappeared like a ghost.

No one moves at first.
Not even the pets.