diff --git a/__tests__/unit/services/reaction-count.test.ts b/__tests__/unit/services/reaction-count.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e6a4aad9e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/__tests__/unit/services/reaction-count.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+/**
+ * The count a reaction reports back must survive the shape PostgREST sends.
+ *
+ * `like_timeline_event` and its three siblings are declared
+ * `RETURNS TABLE(<name>_count integer)`, and a set-returning function comes
+ * back as an ARRAY of rows: `[{ like_count: 1 }]`. The client indexed that
+ * array as though it were the row, so the lookup was always `undefined` and the
+ * `|| 0` fallback turned every successful like into a count of zero.
+ *
+ * It hid well. The filled heart comes from a boolean the client sets itself, so
+ * liking something looked right while the number beside it stayed blank — and
+ * for the eight months the RPC was also raising 42703, there was no successful
+ * response to notice it in.
+ *
+ * Pinned against both shapes: the array PostgREST actually sends, and the bare
+ * object it would send if one of these were ever rewritten to return a scalar.
+ */
+
+import { toggleLike } from '@/services/timeline/processors/reactions';
+
+const rpc = jest.fn();
+const from = jest.fn();
+
+jest.mock('@/services/timeline/processors/social-shared', () => ({
+  db: {
+    rpc: (...args: unknown[]) => rpc(...args),
+    from: (...args: unknown[]) => from(...args),
+  },
+  getCurrentUserId: async () => 'user-1',
+}));
+
+/** No existing reaction row, so toggling adds one and calls the add RPC. */
+function noExistingReaction() {
+  from.mockReturnValue({
+    select: () => ({
+      eq: () => ({ eq: () => ({ single: async () => ({ data: null }) }) }),
+    }),
+  });
+}
+
+describe('reaction counts', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    jest.clearAllMocks();
+    noExistingReaction();
+  });
+
+  it('reads the count out of the array PostgREST returns for RETURNS TABLE', async () => {
+    rpc.mockResolvedValue({ data: [{ like_count: 7 }], error: null });
+
+    await expect(toggleLike('event-1', 'user-1')).resolves.toEqual({
+      success: true,
+      liked: true,
+      likeCount: 7,
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('also accepts a bare object, so a scalar rewrite cannot silently zero it', async () => {
+    rpc.mockResolvedValue({ data: { like_count: 3 }, error: null });
+
+    await expect(toggleLike('event-1', 'user-1')).resolves.toMatchObject({ likeCount: 3 });
+  });
+
+  it('reports zero when the response carries no count at all', async () => {
+    rpc.mockResolvedValue({ data: [], error: null });
+
+    await expect(toggleLike('event-1', 'user-1')).resolves.toMatchObject({ likeCount: 0 });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/services/timeline/processors/reactions.ts b/src/services/timeline/processors/reactions.ts
index d2310426f..7fa662190 100644
--- a/src/services/timeline/processors/reactions.ts
+++ b/src/services/timeline/processors/reactions.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,30 @@ interface ReactionConfig {
   countKey: string;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Read the new count out of an RPC response.
+ *
+ * All four of these functions are `RETURNS TABLE(<name>_count integer)`, and
+ * PostgREST renders a set-returning function as an ARRAY of rows — `[{
+ * like_count: 1 }]`. This used to index the array as if it were the row, so the
+ * lookup was always undefined and the `|| 0` turned every successful reaction
+ * into a count of zero.
+ *
+ * The effect was subtle enough to survive the whole time the RPCs were also
+ * raising 42703: liking something persisted correctly and then rendered as if
+ * nobody had, because the button state comes from `active` (a literal) while
+ * the number comes from here. Accepts either shape, so it cannot break again if
+ * one of these is ever rewritten to return a scalar.
+ */
+function readCount(data: unknown, countKey: string): number {
+  const row = Array.isArray(data) ? data[0] : data;
+  if (!row || typeof row !== 'object') {
+    return 0;
+  }
+  const value = (row as Record<string, unknown>)[countKey];
+  return typeof value === 'number' ? value : 0;
+}
+
 async function toggleReaction(
   eventId: string,
   targetUserId: string,
@@ -44,7 +68,7 @@ async function toggleReaction(
       return {
         success: true,
         active: false,
-        count: (data as Record<string, number>)?.[countKey] || 0,
+        count: readCount(data, countKey),
       };
     } catch (dbError) {
       logger.warn(`RPC ${removeRpc} not available, using fallback`, dbError, 'Timeline');
@@ -77,7 +101,7 @@ async function toggleReaction(
       return {
         success: true,
         active: true,
-        count: (data as Record<string, number>)?.[countKey] || 0,
+        count: readCount(data, countKey),
       };
     } catch (dbError) {
       logger.warn(`RPC ${addRpc} not available, using fallback`, dbError, 'Timeline');