I Need You - Taennie

Prologue

A 24 inch screen.

16:9 space ratio.

1920×1080 resolution.

THIS IS HIS WORLD.

A dark room with barricaded windows.

His computer, the only source of light.

His long fingers tapping rapidly on the keyboard.

One game.

NO MORALS

NO TRUTH

A WORLD OF DISTORTED DESIRES

The rolling chair comfortable for him, sitting in it the whole day and the whole night.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated.

MOM
Son, you're really not going?
PUSH TO SEE MORE

And he snorted while throwing the device on his bed.

"Vacation my ass. I'M NOT GOING MOM!"

He shouts it clearly because he knows.

He knows his mother is behind his bedroom door he carefully locked up.

That poor woman, always trying to get a hold of him.

"How about some fresh air for a change? It's been so long since you got out of your room..."

The woman bit her lips while staring at her son's closed door, the phone in her hands feeling heavy:

"This might be the last trip before your father leaves on business agai-"

"I said I'm not going."

"And I told you to not talk to me anymore. I hate hearing your voice."

The woman let her head hanging down, before she switched her phone on again, opening the message app and typing a new text.

"Shit! Those fucking idiots are in my party again. Were going to get slaughtered."

Consumed by the game, the boy did not notice the new vibration of his phone.

MOM
We'll be going, take care until we come back, don't skip your meals.
PUSH TO SEE MORE

The car drove fast as the outnumbered family remained silent.

Until the father exploded:

"Taehyung, that idiot... When is he going to grow up?"

The boy's mother and sister didn't utter a word at the man.

"He's turning into a freak, a recluse."

Turning to his wife, he spat:

"What kind of a mother are you to let him behave like that?"

"It's not mom's fault! What are you blaming her for!"

The father turned his head at the back, the steering wheel reaching in his hands:

"Oh! Now you've joined the rebellion too? Jesus Christ! Whenever I'm away, even just a bit, this house becomes a mess, a fucking mess!"

"Dad, you're being ridiculous."

The younger girl pushed her glasses higher on her nose, trying to contain her anger.

"Why don't you ever feel responsible for Taehyung? Maybe if you were home more, he wouldn't be like this! How's it all mom's fault?"

The man chuckled while shaking his head, hands dripping the steering wheel even tighter than before.

"Wow. I cant believe this. This is what I get after all what I've sacrificed for you kids? You have absolutely no idea how I work my butt off to put some food on our table."

"Ok, that's enough," the mother spoke up, looking down in her lap, "let's not ruin our vacation."

"Yeah yeah, just leave it there, it's all my fault, my fault, and my fault! Damn it!"

The father spat as he accelerated the car's speed, passing by slower cars on the high way.

"Come on everyone, let's lighten up a bit, we have a good day ahead of us."

The sister nodded at her mother before sparing a glance at the empty seat next to her, sighing silently.

"You're right mom... and I'm sorry dad."

The father sighed seemingly while biting his lips, before turning his head back to face his daughter.

"I am too, sweetie. It's just that... Everytime I see Taehyung, I cant help but get angry, you know?"

"DAD! LOOK OUUT!!!"

But as the father turned his head back, his eyes widened and his face paled, before the three of them started screaming in terror.

The phone was endlessly vibrating, and after the fifteenth call, Taehyung huffed annoyingly and got up to reach his phone he had thrown on the bed earlier.

"Damn it, who is it for fuck's sake."

The dark-haired accepted the call and put the phone up to his ear:

"Why do you keep calling-"

But he was quickly cut off by the voice speaking.

"What? Yes-... Yes that's my family.."

But the next sentence of the speaker made Taehyung's eyes widen like never before.

EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD HIGHSCHOOL STUDENT

KIM TAEHYUNG

A SOCIAL RECLUSE

"...Excuse me?"

WITH A HISTORY OF SELF-HARM

The phone fell out of his hand as his eyes kept wide open, mouth opened in horror.

REFUSING TO GO TO SCHOOL

LOST HIS FAMILY

AND IS NOW ALONE