From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show
chapter-888

June lifted his head and saw the anticipating looks of the other members.

- There's no way they're going to get my Pookie to open up.

- June is a listener!

- We already know his home situation, but he never really told us much about how he feels.

- Sometimes, I worry about June because he's a closed-off idol. I mean, he's blunt, but he's always

been neutral with himself. Contrary to having an energy similar to the main character, he surprisingly doesn't like to bring attention to himself.

- You couldn't have worded it better.

The comments were telling the truth.

June wasn't one to open up easily. It wasn't that he wanted to hide it from them, but he just never had the intention of revealing it.

It sounded confusing, but it made sense for June.

Their gazes lingered on him, waiting for him to speak. June pointed to himself, raising an eyebrow. "Me?" he asked.

"Who else?" Pablo echoed the question.

June shrugged, trying to deflect the attention. "Just watch Rising Stars. I already shared something there."

"That was your life story," Pablo countered, not letting him off the hook. "You've never told us how you felt about it."

"Yeah!" Mimi said. "I watched every episode, and that one made me bawl, but you rarely talk about your feelings."

Mei also paid great attention.

June sighed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "You can watch my performances then. I tend to give my interpretations through that."

The others groaned, clearly not satisfied with his answer. They wanted more than just the surface-level June.

"Come on, man," Haruki pressed. "We're all sharing here. Just tell us something."

"Uno didn't say anything," June said.

Uno shook his head. "My life is really uninteresting. I didn't have many problems aside from being the best trainee and having little to no satisfaction. However, I've grown out of it. If you ask me to write a college essay, I'm sure I wouldn't be able to write anything because I don't have trauma!" he happily said, causing the others to look at him with surprise.

"There, he already shared something," Hana said. Even back then, June wasn't the type to vent his feelings. For someone who went through a lot, he was surprisingly calm. So, she wanted to hear something from him.

June sighed again. He was already over his past, yet they're all digging into it again! He didn't even miss who he used to be or where he came from.

Clicking his tongue in mild frustration, June finally gave in.

"Fine," he muttered, causing both the cast members and those watching from the television to cheer.

"Where do I start?" he muttered. "It's also not too special. It's different but not special."

He paused, trying to find the right words. He didn't want to make his past sound glamorous because it wasn't. Calling it special felt like it would give it a spotlight it didn't deserve-like it was something to be admired when it was anything but.

"After my parents died," he began, his voice even softer now, "we-I mean, I never had a real home."

The others listened intently, not daring to interrupt.

"The orphanage," June continued, "school, work... None of it felt like home. It was just a place I stayed, not somewhere I belonged."

His eyes drifted to the fire. "You tend to look for something you don't have, you know? I kept searching for it, kept hoping I'd find it somewhere. But then, I just... stopped."

He looked up, meeting the eyes of each of his friends in turn. "Home isn't a house. Home is how you feel. It can be a person, a song, or even some type of food. It's not something you open or close-it's just there. It's where you feel safe, where you feel like you belong." He glanced at his members.

June found it with EVE- his current home.

He didn't say that out loud, of course. His members already loved him too much. June didn't need them smothering him out of adoration.

As much as he loved his sister, he couldn't deny that he was happier with the life he had now. The group was silent, taking in his words. Pablo was the first to break the silence. "That doesn't give anything away," he sighed, but there was a softness in his tone that showed he understood.

He might have wanted more details, but he couldn't argue with what June had said. It made sense in a way that was hard to put into words.

June chuckled lightly, the tension easing just a bit. "But that's it," he said simply.

"I see," Jisung muttered, his brow furrowed in thought. "I guess we all agree that home is something that would accept us, something that's open to us, always."

June paused, his mind turning over Jisung's words. There was something there.

"Can you repeat that?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Jisung scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish. "What? It was too long. I forgot. I can only repeat short phrases."

June shook his head, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the clues they had found earlier. He laid them out in front of him, the firelight illuminating the words on each piece of paper. "Same. Not. From a stranger's perspective. The" June read them out loud, rearranging the papers as he did. The others leaned closer, wondering why June was messing with the clues at that moment.

"Not the same from a stranger's perspective," June said, his voice growing more certain. His eyes lit up as the pieces started to fit together in his mind.

"What about it?" Pablo asked.

"Home!" June exclaimed. "That's why Ramil PD emphasized it so much."

- Holy crap. A Eureka moment!

- I just felt my panties explode. I love a smart man.

- I still don't understand.

- Me too. I just joined in because it feels like June finally knows the answer.

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

"A home is not the same from a stranger's perspective. For others, it's just a house, something closed off, a building with walls and a roof. But for those who belong there, it's so much more. It's where your heart is and where your soul feels at peace. It's not about opening

a door."

June stood from his seat.

"Wait, I don't understand!" Jisung exclaimed, but he and the others followed June

nonetheless, their curiosity outweighing their confusion.

June walked over to the unsuspecting window situated next to the door.

He placed his hand on the cool metal handle.

Then, with a deep breath, he opened the window.

It slid open effortlessly, the sound of the latch clicking barely audible.

And there it was, the answer they had been searching for all along.

The house had been open the entire time.

"A home isn't a place you unlock," he said softly. "It's a place you find."