The morning was nothing special, same as always. Boring, super dull, and nothing interesting happening. Huh.. Seemed that Taehyun was getting bored easily these past few days? That was.. strange? Usually he always had something to do, whether it was to hack yet another onion website or make someones life on the web hell. Taehyun stood next to the kitchen counter watching the coffee boil.  Its scent crawling through the small apartment, barely enough to remind him that the day was starting, it still felt like he was asleep, what if he's about to wake up any second and this is a dream? What.. no, Taehyun stop your just sleep deprived.  He sat down in front of his laptop, fingers twitching with the habit of tapping the keyboard, the cold plastic keys cold against his skin.

Hacking wasn’t just a skill or a hobby it was his escape, gosh.. well it was corny to say it like that, but it truly was. His room was a mix of old tech scraps and neon posters peeling at the edges, the cyberpunk aesthetic he curated himself with a quiet obsession. His life outside the glow of the screen was a mess his parents barely spoke, but at least he didnt live with them now. Here though.. in the circuits and code, he was king. Thank god he moved out from that house for college.. that home was hell down on earth.

The morning routine was mechanical, somewhat a habit you can say? Checking emails, scanning security forums, poking around websites, and hunting for something that might break the monotony. He’d long ago learned to recognize the patterns in the dark web the red flags, the traps, the places where people traded in sins and nightmares.

College was supposed to be different. Bigger city, new people, fresh start. But Taehyun felt like he carried his past everywhere he went. He wasn’t the type to make friends easily, preferring the company of lines of code over strangers’ faces, but unfortunately for him it wasn’t a choice, people naturally surrounded him for some reason, always asking if he wants to go somewhere or if he’s free. But at least his hacking paid off, got him into a good college, but he still kept to himself, eyes always scanning, always analyzing. Not that he was introverted or antisocial, he would just rather prefer to not go to college party’s every day.

His phone buzzed softly. Another message, another distraction from the endless scrolling. Usually, it was some group chat or a meme. Today, it was something else.

A Facebook message...? Weird, considering he barely used Facebook anymore. He opened it, brow furrowing as he saw the sender’s name...

сглазить(sglazit)? Huh..? A name in a different language, Russian to be specific, interesting.. 

The message read: Taehyun, how’s the weather in Japan?

He blinked. Japan? What the fuck? He was in Seoul, Korea, not some tourist posting about Tokyo’s heat. And how did this dude know his real name??? Whatever.. probably just some digging gave him enough information..?

He typed back, thinking maybe it was some weird joke or a glitch. “Haha, random, hope it’s rainy. Hate the heat not gonna lie”

Seconds later, another message popped up: Do you like games?

Taehyun smirked, fingers moving quicker. Probably some lame gamer troll. “Yeah, League, GTA. You?”

The reply came fast, he didnt expect it to come that quickly.

"What, haha no Taehyun you must be mistaken I mean real life games. For people’s lives, why, dont like those?"

His smirk dropped. The screen felt colder now, like the message was ice crawling down his spine. Shit.. he's barely awake and his day starts like this? 

“What the hell?” he muttered, fingers hesitating over the keys. He laughed to himself, man these trolls on the internet are getting too good, he should be more careful.

Beep! Another message

"Why laughing? Im being serious Taehyun.."

What the fuck, man this person better shut up or he's about to block them. Then for a short second his mind flicked back to all the dark web stories he’d read, the horror lurking behind every anonymous username.

Suddenly, his phone rang. Caller ID: Mom.

Oh well, finally, some excuse to stop texting that random. Why did he even start talking back in the first place? He could have just ignored them, or blocked them. 

He answered, voice casual, “Hey, Mom, what’s up?”

Silence was there for a moment but then a voice, too calm, whispered, “Taehyun, how’s the weather in Japan?”

His heart slammed against his ribs. The caller ID flickered, changing from Mom to Unknown Number. Something about the voice chilled him, familiar but wrong, like a shadow in a dream. Taehyun’s fingers tightened around the phone.

“Who is this?” he demanded.

No answer followed. Just the echo of that same question, whispered again Taehyun, do you want to play a game?

His breath hitched. Then, the voice said something else this time.. "You haven’t checked your photo gallery in a while...Go check it out, might find something"

Taehyun’s eyes snapped to his phone. Thats so random..? The fear from before lowered and he was now more confused, even curious.  Soon enough after just seconds curiosity warred with fear, but something pulled him to unlock the screen and open the gallery.

What he saw made his blood freeze.. He didnt quite.. expect that. 

Hundreds of photos, no, not just photos though, it was photos of him. Him, everywhere his bedroom, the streets, college hallways. Some were candid, some horrifyingly intimate, snapshots of moments he never knew were captured. And the last photo, the most recent one, was a picture of him taken seconds ago... No.. no, no, no..! What is this shit???

Behind him, in the reflection of the window, a figure stared back. Smiling. There was a guess who that might be.. Just, maybe. 

He slammed the phone shut, breath ragged. The game had just begun.

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-author

Chat, for the people reading on Tapas. I just wanna say, I wrote this story a while ago, so its kind of ass.. Even I myself personally really dislike it😭. So yeah just wanted to say that. Also first time using Tapas? Woah. Oh and by the way, since I did not just start this story, I already have a lot(not that much, sigh) of chapters written out, published on some other sites too, I will publish all the chapters I already have and the rest will just get released normally, updating is kind of slow right now tho, since im working on something new.