You lie down in bed, phone in tow, when it suddenly vibrates.

 

[instagram] redvelvet.smtown is live 

 

You quickly shuffle your feet and lean your back on the headboard of your bed. Red Velvet going live on their anniversary was expected. It was a staple. But aside from the jubilation, you (and a few other million Luvies) feel anxious of Wendy possibly not being in the live because she is still recuperating. Or so you think she is. 

 

You tap away and the loading wheel starts looping, when four bodies - Irene, Seulgi, Yeri, and Joy sit and squeeze themselves in one bed—presumably Seulgi’s. An LP record could be heard playing from the background with the girls swaying to the music. As expected. You sigh deeply. Oh Wendy isn’t coming. 

 

After a while they ask how everyone is doing and thank everyone who greeted them and as always, expressed their love to the fans. 

 

15 minutes in and a few TMIs later, Yeri starts scrolling the phone used for the insta-live when it suddenly blinks, and starts feeding  afterwards. 

 

“Hey don’t call!” Joy furrows her eyebrows in what seemed to be a replay of that IG live when they went to Vietnam. Seulgi squirmed. She remembered what happened to her birthday too. 

 

You check Twitter to see ReVeluvs yelling at sasaengs to stop calling the girls. You tweet that too, and go back to the Insta live immediately to find Irene’s eyes widening over the sight of the caller ID when her phone rang next. She picks up the phone and answers it.
 

Joyermseul talk about what had happened throughout their career as Red Velvet and assured, time and time again that they were always going to be there for Luvies. Irene in the background is talking to the caller, and suddenly cackles. “Alright I’ll get the door,” she mouths and drops the call. 

 

You sigh in relief that it was not a sasaeng.

 

“It’s time!” Irene sings as Joy, Yeri and Seulgi started talking about how they plan to spend the rest of the year as Red Velvet. 

 

Yeri runs off from the screen, sounding like she was looking for something among Seulgi’s stuff. Irene on the other hand ran out and opened the door. The four of them were getting frantic for some reason and the mix of comments kept coming. 

 

Yeri what are you looking for?

Omg what is up 

I love you cake girls!!!! 

Sing “Red Flavor” please

 

The cake girls looked so frantic in their own little world. Seulgi shifts from her position and starts kneeling from the bed. They tell those watching to close their eyes. 

 

Don’t tell me this is another Zimzalabim thing you say and chuckle, but still close your eyes anyway. 

 

Muffled voices of the cake girls could be heard from the background; Yeri’s cackle, Seulgi’s cutebear noises, Irene’s megaphone laugh, and Joy’s tone-fairy voice. A familiar, honey sounding voice chimes in. 

 

“Surprise!” The other voice says, in a voice all to familiar. 

 

OH MY GOD WENDY. You open your eyes, to find five bodies squeezing each other in a tiny bed, the fifth girl having the bleach blonde hair you knew all too well—tied in a bun now as it grew long enough, and holding a box of cake. Irene can be seen on her right, holding Wendy in a koala embrace.

 

Your phone starts heating up as the whole fandom collapses over the return of Son Seungwan. Red Velvet’s main vocalist. Wendy who sings. The hamster. The cinnamon roll dork. It felt like the last eight months were a fever dream and now you’ve been cured of it. 

 

“Missed me everyone?” She said, as the rest of the girls wrapped her around for an embrace, not minding the cake she had in tow. 

 

“Hey careful! I baked that you know.” She said.

Yeri looked at Wendy. “Way to redeem yourself after feeding Seulgi and Irene-unnie expired ice cream last year.”

 

“Yah!” 

 

“So anyways,” Wendy said, adjusting the cake box carefully in her hands so the girls could hug her properly. “I came from my parents’ house and called Yeri. But she wasn’t answering so—“

 

“Unnie! My phone is being used for the live! We thought you were someone else!” That explains it. You think. “And so I called Irene-unnie instead, thankfully she picked up because it was getting hot outside and I’ve been standing in front of the door for 15 minutes!” 

 

Irene laughs and slaps Wendy. Typical. 

 

“So are we blowing the candle now before the cake gets smooshed?” Joy quips. 

 

Yeri takes the candles she was holding and sticks it to Wendy’s cake—a red velvet layer cake she apparently baked in her folks’ place before going to the dorm. In unison, the girls sang “Happy Birthday!” along with you and other Luvies holding their phones to their faces with tears of joy. My OT5 heart you sigh as you wipe down trickles of tears in your eyes. 

 

Five of them close their eyes and make a wish, and clap after blowing the candles. They didn’t tell their wishes, but among them for sure - after weathering the dark storm of the past 8 months - would be brighter and sunnier days ahead.