At first, it started out as a necessity. You were young, only fourteen at the time, and didn't know anybody except your fellow trainees that were mostly older than you. Even then, you couldn't hang out with them much since the majority didn't want to make friends with you, and that left you with the most important ones that stayed with you until you debuted together in a group, Irene and Seulgi. Irene, in particular, played a major role in your adolescent life from the very beginning. Even though Seulgi was the one who approached you first and you considered her as your first sister, Irene was your guardian, someone you knew you could always trust no matter the situation. She was the one who approached you when you were homesick and she was also the one who took you on your first date, which eventually became your thing. Whenever there was Irene, you were there too. 

"Eli-ah, you stay with me, okay? I don't want you to get lost," Irene gripped your hand softly in hers, a soft, adoring smile painted on her lips. 

You looked up at her with a shy smile on your face. "Okay, Unnie. I won't let go of your hand." 

You stayed true to your words, holding her hand throughout the journey to your first date. Apparently, Irene was going to take you to a museum that she thought you might like and being the responsible 20-year-old that's used to taking care of her own little sister, Irene made sure you wouldn't get lost. 

It had also become a habit for her to take you to your dorm after training hours had ended, even if it was late at night and you were both exhausted to the bones.

"It's okay if you can't always take me home, Hyun-unnie. I'm sure you're exhausted, it's okay for you to just go straight home," you almost pleaded, worry shining in your eyes. Although you appreciated the gesture, Irene didn't live in the same building as you and you knew it took her a while to get to her own dorm. 

She pinched your chubby cheek in response with a tired smile on her face, though her eyes shined brightly even in the dimmed lights. "I have to make sure you get home safely, Eli-ah. I'll be okay." 

You pouted, worry still clouding your features. "But I don't want to be a bother, Unnie. I'm fifteen now, I can get home by myself." 

Irene's eyes turned serious at your words, her hands now cupping both of your cheeks. You were just a little bit taller than her, though she could still reach your cheeks just fine. This would not be the case in the years to come, Irene came to find out. 

"You'll never be a bother to me, okay? I choose to take care of you and be your guardian, and I want to make sure I'm doing it right. We have a later class tomorrow anyway, so I will be able to get enough rest," Irene made sure you knew how serious she was, "let me take care of you, El. You're important to me." 

Hearing her words made you beam, chubby cheeks now dusted with pinkish hues as your eyes squinted in happiness. You were thankful for her presence in your life and you vowed from then on to always be by her side, even if she felt like she didn't deserve it.

"You're important to me too, Unnie. Please always be in my life forever," you replied softly, eyes staring at hers with the purest form of sincerity and Irene just melted. You were adorable. 

"Why do you have to be so cute, huh?!" Irene squished your cheeks in hers, causing you to yelp. 

"Unnie, that hurts!" 

From then on, everyone at the company saw how caring Irene was towards you and how you were basically always together. Wherever you were, Irene was there and vice versa. It came to the point where if one of you were not present, the others would ask the other one where they were.

"Hey, Joohyun. Off to class?" one of the seniors asked, eyes shifting to the sides to find something that didn't seem to be there. Irene was feared by the trainees, with her being so quiet and shy due to her Daegu accent, though there were a few brave souls who befriended her and found out just how lovely she was. 

"Hello, sunbaenim. Yes, I am," she replied softly, though her eyes showed slight confusion at how the senior was acting. 

The senior smiled, giving her a pat on the shoulder. "Good luck today. Where's Eli, by the way?" 

Irene's confusion turned into understanding. So that's why the senior seemed to be looking around for something. 

"She's sick and the doctor told her to rest for the next few days," Irene answered with a sad pout and the senior almost squealed at the scene. The beauty was truly adorable. 

"Oh no, that's terrible. I hope she'll get well soon." 

And vice versa. 

"Eli!" 

You beamed at the figure, running towards his arms. "Oppa! I've missed you!" 

Minho's deep chuckles resonated in the little space, causing you to smile. It's been a while since you've been able to meet the guy. 

"Are you alone? Where's Joohyun?" 

You glared at him playfully, leaning back from the hug. "Am I not enough for you, Oppa? Why are you asking about Joohyun-unnie?" 

"Y-yah it's not like that!" he stuttered and you tried so hard to conceal your grin, "you're always together, so I figured you'd be with her! Of course, you're enough for me, Eli-ah, don't say things like that," he protested, whining all through his sentence. His manager just laughed from where he stood behind the singer, knowing you were only joking. 

You couldn't hold it any longer so you laughed out loud, hugging him again in apology. "I'm only joking, Oppa, I'm sorry," you giggled.

"What the hell," Minho whined again as he playfully slapped your shoulder in retaliation, minding his strength even though he knew you could take it. 

Eventually, the two of you pulled back from the hug with wide grins on your faces. "She's meeting up with a friend, so she'll pick me up afterwards." 

"You didn't go with her to meet the friend?" Minho playfully asked, intending the question as a form of teasing. 

You shrugged, answering him truthfully, "I was about to but then Manager-unnie asked me to come here so here I am."

The senior's eyes widened in surprise, not anticipating the answer. "Yah, you really go everywhere together." 

You laughed. You were not new to this reaction. "Almost, we're just comfortable with each other so why be alone when we can be together?" 

The sentiment stayed even to this day, where you go support your fellow members and idols at their shows or concerts. Seulgi had just debuted with her own solo album and each member supported her, coming to her shows and sending her that signature food truck whenever one of you had a solo schedule that needs to be supported. 

Irene had gone with Wendy the day before though you couldn't tag along because you had your own schedule. So, you both planned to support the main dancer at her next show, along with TVXQ's Yunho. 

"Unnie! Eli-ah!" Seulgi greeted brightly, wrapping you both in her arms. She was both ecstatic and touched to find out you had taken the time in-between your drama filming to support her. She knew it wasn't easy and you were probably exhausted, but you made sure to not show any of that as you put one arm out so the beautiful flower arrangement wouldn't get squished in the embrace. 

"Seulgi-ah, doing well?" Irene's leader tone came out and Seulgi find herself almost tearing up at the question. She wasn't staying at the dorms just yet since she was still wrapping up her solo schedules, so she had missed her members even more during her solo stages. It's usually all six of you and it was just so quiet without all the banter and teasings happening in-between busy appearances. 

"I feel great, Unnie. You have to listen to the fans cheering, I've missed it so much and it motivates me to do well even more," the main dancer answered after pulling back from the hug, looking like she was about to cry. 

"Unnie, don't cry," you went closer to her side as you wrapped your arm around her shoulder in a side hug, "here, beautiful flowers for our beautiful Bear-unnie." 

You were both looking at her with proud eyes and Seulgi was ready to burst into tears if it wasn't for the make-up she had on and Yunho standing not too far from where you were. 

"Thank you, Eli-ah. I'm so touched that you're here, thank you so much." The main dancer made sure you knew she appreciated the gesture and you only gave her an easy smile, bringing her into another warm embrace. 

"Anything for you, Unnie. I love you. You're doing so well and we're all here supporting you, okay?" you mumbled into her ear and you could feel her nods, causing you to kiss the side of her head in affection.

"I love you too."

You pulled back from the embrace and Yunho made his way to your group then, supporting a grin as he opened his arms for you to make your way into the hug. You'd let Seulgi hug him first but knowing that she was still a little shy when it came to one of her favourite idols that she'd respected for so long, you took the lead. 

"Hi, Oppa. How have you been?" You pulled back from the hug so he could greet Irene and Seulgi as well. 

He answered as he let go of the embrace with your leader, "I'm doing well. I see the both of you are still always together?" he rhetorically asked and you just exchanged amused looks with the leader. 

"Of course, Oppa. I'm always going to be by her side," you proudly claimed as you wrapped your soulmate in a side hug, her looking up at you with eyes dripping with love and adoration. 

Yunho smiled at the exchange as he wrapped an arm around Seugi's shoulders after greeting her with a warm hug. 

"You're too cute. Now, you have to teach me the moves to Seulgi's song, okay? I don't want to look like a fool dancing next to all of you," he muttered, referring to the challenge you were going to do and you laughed, nodding all the while. 

"I'm sure you'll catch up soon enough, Oppa." 

All these interactions were eventually noticed by the fans. They admired the fact that the two of you seem to stick together through thick and thin, and capturing both of you almost everywhere together was cute so over the years, the video and pictures compilations of you being spotted together piled up over the years. In the pictures and videos, you both seem to always be in a great mood or having a great time, laughing and smiling in almost every photo. However, the most touching one was captured recently, where you, the leader and the maknae attended aespa's concert. 

Red Velvet was starting to prepare for your own concert and with aespa's being your juniors, some of you decided to attend to show support but to also see if there was any inspiration you could get out of it. Only the three of you were available; Joy was in Milan for her partnership with Tod's, Seulgi was on a holiday in Guam with her family, and Wendy had packed schedules that couldn't be moved around. So, the three of you set out to the concert with one of your managers, for safety reasons as it was a public appearance and you'd rather be safe than sorry. 

The concert went well and the girls even greeted you through the jumbotron, waving excitedly and calling out "Unnies!" into their mics, prompting fans to scream in excitement at seeing half of Red Velvet members there. You all waved and greeted back, but when you looked at the screen you saw how teary Irene's eyes were. Thinking she was being sentimental, just like how you were feeling, you grabbed her hand in support after the camera was turned away from you, causing her to turn towards you in surprise. 

"Are you okay, Unnie?" you asked with concern written in your eyes as you got to see the glistening eyes clearer. Now you realised instead of sadness, there was melancholy and pride in her gaze. 

Her fingers interlaced with yours as she nodded, leaning closer to talk to you a little more privately. You leaned down a little to accommodate her and ignored the phones capturing your moment with your leader. 

"I'm just reminded of our very first concert. Do you remember how emotional it was?" 

You subconsciously smiled as you flashed back to that moment of hardship, emotional rollercoaster, and pride. The emotions were all over the place since it wasn't the greatest time for your group mentally but you all went through it together and came out healthy and happy. 

"Yeah, you're right. We've come a long way, huh Unnie?" You looked at her and knew she agreed. You brought her into your arms for a quick but warm hug before releasing her again and realising Yeri was looking at the two of you confused but slightly concerned. You shook your head to let her know that everything was okay and watched as she released a relieved sigh. 

You rubbed your soulmate's back for extra comfort and watched as she smiled, eyes squinting in happiness of being together with her sister and soulmate. 

"We'll be together for a long while, right El? Promise?" She extended her pinky towards you and you laughed, pulling back from the embrace completely to wrap your pinky with the older's. 

"Promise," you answered before raising your intertwined hands so the two of you could kiss the back of your thumbs as a way to tie the promise. It's a thing you started doing when you were young and having grown up with you, Irene had learnt of this specific western tradition so even though it's not very often that you did it, it had a special meaning to the two of you. You had one last silent conversation before nodding and going back to watch the concert with hearts feeling lighter and hands intertwined. 

What none of you realised was the numerous fans capturing the cutest moment they've ever seen to date and the pictures later exploding on social media, with you being tagged left and right. Later that night, when you were scrolling through the pictures, you just chuckled as you saved the clearest picture of them all to set as your phone's lock screen. It's set as a reminder that you'd be there for your members and leader, whenever and wherever.