It all started with a movie.

Watching it in theaters would’ve been a bullet to the bit of income you earned, and as much as you wanted to watch it you literally could not afford to purchase a movie ticket over groceries and other necessities.

Still, you were determined to watch the movie you had been anticipating before the trailer had even been released, and you would not let your financial status get in the way of it.

That was how you stumbled upon an “illegal website” on your phone’s internet browser that pirated movies, your only method that would allow you to watch the movie for free.

It was also how a certain Virus found its way to your device, one that impacted your life more than the couple of bucks you could’ve spent on watching the movie at the theater would.

Maybe using your phone wasn’t particularly the best idea for the notion, but it’s not like you had access to a laptop anyways. At first, the only thing you worried about was the amount of pop up ads that engulfed about the entirety of your screen. It was becoming tedious having to click the “CLOSE” button in the corner of every advertisement that surfaced, especially annoying when they just happened to be related to dating. Yes you were single, but you didn’t need dating website ads to rub it in.

Right after selecting the title of your movie on the website, another ad covered the display, causing you to heave a deep sigh. This particular advertisement was something along the lines of “lonely? find singles near you”, and you rolled your eyes as you led your fingers towards the ‘x’ button.

You had only realized that your fingertip came a bit short from the target after pressing down on the screen for a few seconds, accidentally accepting the block of nuisance instead.

“No, no, no, no, no!” you groaned in frustration, tossing your phone onto your mattress as your touch activated something.

It took you a moment to notice that your screen had gone completely blank.

Picking your phone up, you observed the device and attempted to turn it back on. For some reason the screen failed to display anything, even after you pressed down on the power button.

Did your phone run out of battery without you noticing? Your mind was running with all sorts of possible reasons as to what the root cause had been. Halfway into thinking this was some sort of backlash for attempting to watch the movie illegally, the screen burst into its former color and revealed your screen.

A bit of text contained in a digital box projected itself where your lockscreen would’ve been. Upon closer inspection, it said:

ERROR 951230

THIS DEVICE IS HEARBY TAKEN OVER BY V.

A pixel sprite of a boy in chibi form appeared after the “V” began to glow white, nearly giving you a heartattack. Mockingly, the little character stuck out what looked to be a pixelated tongue as it winked.

“What’s going on? Who’s… V?” you questioned, though you chuckled bitterly after realizing you had actually expected an answer.

Your phone let out a single, prolonged beep.

I’M V.

The two words had replaced the original text from before, but the box they were contained in morphed into one that appeared to be a speech bubble.

This time you full out scoffed. “Ah yes, a bundle of pixels is the culprit who took over my phone.”

Then you took a moment to think.

“How did you respond to me? You are just a pixellated little virus, aren’t you?”

The face of the little chibi went blank, much like the speech bubble above him.

UR PHONE HAS A MIC, DOESN’T IT?

After processing what the message meant, your eyes widened. “What the hell? I didn’t ask for some sort of virus stalker person having access to my phone!”

RELAX.

The message in the speech bubble alternated.

THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH UR PHONE.

Before you could react or remotely do anything as a form of response, the speech bubble disappeared, along with the little pixel guy with it.

This left you flabbergasted, still attempting to process the predicament before you returned to your phone.

Strangely enough, the V character seemed to be stating the truth. For the most part, your phone functioned just as well as it did prior to his appearance.

He just didn’t state all of the truth, because you ended up finding it yourself.

Your phone’s mic wasn’t the only thing the stranger had access to - he had access to everything. It was absolutely frightening for you at first thinking of the endless possibilities V had with your data, but the fear of him showing up at your doorstep to kidnap or murder you was eventually dismissed when you discovered that the only thing he did with your personal information was to taunt you with it.

Whoever V was, he sure liked to check whatever you were doing just so he could make fun of you for it.

“UR MUSIC TASTE .” the text bubble would emerge whenever you tried listening to music, and soon after your song would be replaced by something of V’s choice, typically something from a Highschool Musical soundtrack.

Every time you tried to access your camera, “U HAVE A QUESTIONABLE PHOTO GALLERY” would pop up for so long you would give up taking pictures completely.

Sometimes he wouldn’t even let your phone’s messaging app open, instead bringing up the text box to taunt you about how “NO ONES GOING TO CONTACT U”.

When people did contact you, V would do all sorts of things to tamper with them. He would turn the ringer off, decline calls before you could even touch your screen, and open your text messages so you wouldn’t see the notification, making it seem like you left it on read.

He would turn your alarms and reminders off, move around apps while filling up their former spaces with unnecessary ones he downloaded, all with his pixellated avatar peeking out at you in the corner of your screen.

After tolerating it for a number of days, you had eventually snapped.

“I give up V, I give up!” you exclaimed in pure frustration, releasing your phone from your grip in order to slam your palms against the table in front of you. “All I wanted was to watch a movie!”

Your phone vibrated soon afterwards.

Glacing towards the screen, you knew it was meant to indicate that he had responded.

“ATLEAST UR NOT LONELY. NOW UR JUST SINGLE.”

Your eyes narrowed into slits as you glared directly into the camera. If V was looking through it, you hoped he could tell how pissed off you were with your expression alone. “If you’re going to act like that, I don’t want to deal with you anymore.”

Then you walked away. Away from your phone, away from the only connection you had with V, and you avoided it for as long as you were able to. The little virus was no where to be found by the time you picked up the handheld device once more, but you knew it would be unwise to think he was gone forever.

Your assumption was proven correct the next morning, though it was in the form of a rather pleasant surprise. Woken up by an alarm you were quite sure you had never set, you were greeted by the all-too-familiar text box and pixellated figure on your phone. 

“MORNING!” the box displayed, adding on soon after. “I REMEMBERED U MENTIONING SMTH ABT NEEDING TO WAKE UP EARLY.”

“Right,” you responded with an eyebrow raised, emerging from the comfort of your bed while you were at it. “Thank you, I guess? What’s up with the sudden change of attitude?”

The little V sprite winked as the dialogue in the box was replaced. “I DON’T KNOW WHAT UR TALKING ABT.”

A lie, obviously, because the next few days consisted of V’s change of behaviour. Perhaps it was your sudden outlash at him, but the new way your Virus was treating you caused the guilt to subside easily.

V’s signature cheesy remarks were still a thing, but they did become more lighthearted and enjoyable. Rather than making your life harder than he once did before, it now felt as if a weight had been lifted from your shoulders. Not only did he set alarms and reminders for when you needed them, he practically did the exact opposite of all the playful torments of the past. He had even cleared the cache of your apps, giving you much more space on your device.

In fact, you were starting to look forward to his little “GOOD MORNING”s and “GOOD NIGHT”s, random messages and greasy jokes he would put in the text box that appeared various times a day.

The only one who had yet to change their attitude was you. V had noticed that too. It was almost as if his attempts were futile, and it discouraged him. So much that eventually, it was his turn to confront you about it.

Your phone out once more, but only for a mere second. When it lit up, it seemed there was an incoming call. The caller ID displayed a series of digits, 951230, a sequence that struck you as familiar. Curiously, you accepted the call, bringing your phone to your ear a bit eagerly.

“Don’t tell me you’re still feeling lonely, even with me around.” It was the voice of an unfamiliar man, deep yet rich with a tone that sounded like honey. Hearing it put you in a brief state of shock as you tried to guess who the owner of the voice was and what he was talking about.

“Is this… V?” 

“It is,” he responded, this time with a hint of enthusiasm dipped into his voice. “I know I’m your virus, but I think you’re lacking some Vitamin V. Or in this case, Vitamin Me.”

You could practically sense the smirk that was probably on his face, the face you had never seen before. “Ew,” you fake gagged. “That pickup line was greasier than all of your jokes combined. What are you playing at?”

“What do you think about meeting up?”

“V, we’re technically still strangers to one another. How do I not know you’re just plotting to, I dunno, kidnap me or something?”

“After days of interaction, I wouldn’t consider us strangers. But hey, if I wanted to I would’ve done something a long time ago.”

You sighed briefly, pinching the bridge of your nose in the process. “Let’s say we were going to meet up. How would we do it?”

“Hey, that ad that installed my virus said you would “find singles near you”. I’m a single near you, so we can meet up somewhere local.” Just as he finished speaking, a faint sound of an engine zoomed by in the background of the audio.

Realizing what the sound would have meant cued another sigh. “Don’t tell me you’re already somewhere we can meet up!”

His only response this time was a laugh. Sweet and soft to listen to, but irked you nonetheless. The next thing you knew you were already grabbing your jacket off the coat hook, and you pulled open the door.

“I just left my house. Where are you now?”

“I’m just on that street with all the convenience stores.”

Your legs were taking you at a faster pace now. The location was more than familiar to you, and it was thankfully close by. “How will I know it’s you?”

“You’ll get there and see a cute guy waiting outside one of the shops.”

Nothing could’ve prevented you from rolling your eyes. “Seriously, V. What do you look like?”

“Alrightie, alright! I’ll take a picture of myself for your convenience. You’ll find it in your photo gallery.”

You nodded, despite the fact V couldn’t see (or he just wasn’t looking through your phone’s camera at the moment), and crossed the street to the next block.

“One last thing!” you were caught off guard by the voice on the other side of the line. “Just call me Taehyung from now on.” And with that, he hung up.

The destination was close now, so you unlocked your phone to check the photos. A new picture emerged from the top of the collection, and your eyes widened at the picture that was supposedly V (or Taehyung, as he had requested).

Sandy brown hair that framed his handsome face was styled messily, yet cutely. He had a white face mask on, and although the accessory and the peace sign he was doing with his hand obstructed a large portion of his appearance, Taehyung was undeniably attractive. It was hard for you to believe that this was the same person responsible for the virus in your phone.

As you looked up from the screen, you realized that you had just arrived at the street Taehyung claimed he was waiting on. At this point, you bolted towards the sole figure who seemed to resemble the picture you had just seen, even from afar.

“Taehyung?” you called out to him, claiming his attention completely.

The young man pulled his face mask to rest upon the tip of his chin, revealing an adorably boxy grin. “That would be me.”

You weren’t sure what caused you to do so, but the next thing you knew you were already pulling him into a tight embrace. “You’re actually real,” you breathed in amazement, making eye contact with Taehyung.

“Of course I am! Real and single,” he winked playfully, and you unhanded him quicker than you had ran to him. “What about you?” he then asked after a brief chuckle.

“What about me?” You tilted your head to the side ever so slightly.

“I mean, are you still single? Because you’re not lonely anymore, not with me around. If you are, well, I could totally change that right?”

Now it was your turn to laugh, but the corner of your lips quirked upward at his eagerness. “We’ll see about that.”

“Speaking of seeing things, we should go watch a movie,” Taehyung declared. “I’ll pay for you. Then you won’t have to go on an illegal website to watch it for free.”

You hit him in the arm lightly in response to the tease. He stuck his tongue out in return, looking an awful lot like his pixellated virus counterpart, but still managed to weave his arm around yours.