Being maknae of DREAMCATCHER (MALE X DREAMCATCHER

A Journey Home

**Date:** 08/29/24

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I didn't expect to feel this way, standing outside the wooden house that had once been my entire world. The memories came flooding back, both the good and the bad, as I reached out to touch the weathered wood. It was as if the house itself had been waiting for me, holding onto the echoes of my past.

The Dreamcatcher members stood silently behind me, their expressions a mix of curiosity and concern. They had known about my past, but it had always been something distant—stories I told late at night, words that never quite captured the reality of it all. But today, they were about to see the place where it all began.

**Iman:** "This is where it all started," I murmured, my voice barely more than a whisper.

**JiU:** "Are you okay, my love?" JiU's voice was soft, full of the same gentle concern she always showed.

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. The memories were overwhelming—images of my parents, the struggles we faced, the emptiness that followed their loss. I could still feel the hunger, the cold, the fear that had been my constant companions after they were gone.

**Iman:** "Let's go inside," I said finally, pushing open the door.

The interior was just as I remembered it. The worn floorboards creaked under our feet, and the faint smell of aged wood filled the air. The furniture was sparse, simple, and worn, but it held a sense of familiarity that was both comforting and painful.

I led them to the small living room, where a faded photograph of my parents still hung on the wall. I reached out to touch it, my fingers brushing against the glass. I had spent countless nights staring at this picture, trying to hold onto the memory of their faces.

**JiU:** "Is this them?" JiU asked, stepping closer to look at the photo.

I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat.

**Iman:** "They were everything to me," I said quietly. "And when they were gone, this house was all I had left."

The other wives exchanged glances, their expressions softening. They had known I came from poverty, but seeing it firsthand was different. It was one thing to hear about my struggles, but another to stand in the place where those struggles had taken place.

**Iman:** "This place," I continued, my voice trembling slightly, "wasn't just a house. It was my refuge, my prison, my everything. After they died, I was alone here. Every day was a fight to survive."

There was a long silence as they took in my words, the weight of my past settling over them like a heavy blanket.

**Handong:** "You were just a child," Handong said softly, her voice full of sorrow. "How did you manage?"

I shook my head, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.

**Iman:** "Barely. I had to learn to fend for myself, to find food, to stay warm. It wasn't easy, but I didn't have a choice. There were times I thought I wouldn't make it, that I would just... disappear."

Dreamcatcher's members remained silent, their eyes filled with sympathy and pain. They couldn't imagine what it must have been like for me, a young boy left to survive on his own in a world that seemed determined to break him.

**Iman:** "But I did survive," I said, my voice growing stronger. "Somehow, I made it through. And every struggle, every hardship, it made me who I am today."

**Siyeon:** "We're here now," Siyeon said, reaching out to take my hand. "You're not alone anymore."

Her words broke something inside me, and I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I had tried so hard to be strong, to keep the pain of my past buried deep inside, but standing here in this house, with the women I loved, it was impossible to hold it all in.