ISAC is an event that you look forward to every year because you got to interact with idols from other groups and watch them gawk over your members, like Seulgi and Irene, which is honestly quite entertaining for you. For this year, only Seulgi would be participating so far with Wendy accompanying her. Now you knew the taping for the events takes quite a while and all you do is wait so you knew Wendy would be alone. It's unfortunate rookie idols are too shy and scared to approach her even though she's probably the friendliest idol out there. 

"Are you sure you want to go, Unnie? You'll be alone waiting," you couldn't help but comment during her baking session. She was baking cookies for Luvies and you honestly couldn't find another person as pure as this angel. 

She chuckled, looking up from her task. "It's okay, Liza. I want to support her and if I don't go, then she'd be alone."

Seriously, how pure can your older sister be?

You shook your head in amazement. "Honestly, Unnie, you're the kindest person I've ever met. I admire you." 

She blushed and laughed in embarrassment. "Liza! Why the sudden compliment?" 

You laughed. "Because you deserve it, Unnie! Besides, it's the truth," you shrugged, coming over to her side. "Would you like some help?" 

She gave you a warm smile. "I would love some!" 

The day of the taping came and both Seulgi and Wendy left around noon while the rest had their own solo schedules. Your schedule was supposed to finish quite late but because it was a good day you finished a lot earlier which made you quickly make the decision to go support your two sisters. You told your manager you were going and asked to be driven there as he made calls with the staff, informing them there would be another Red Velvet member coming into the taping today. You grabbed the attire from the back of the car and what amused you was the tracksuit actually suited your group name: it was red and it was velvety. 

Perfect. 

You arrived at the venue later than everyone else and considering your appearance wasn't scheduled for that day, you were glad the staff had your nametag already printed. You entered the venue carrying Wendy's and Seulgi's favourite drinks in a blue paper bag, walking into the venue with confidence. Once the fans saw you they all screamed your name, attracting other idols' and your members' attention, making you grin. You gave the fan a bow and a wave, quickly bowing back to the other idols as you pass them whilst walking over to the waiting unnie line. 

"Eli! What are you doing here?" Seulgi stood up to give you a hug and you hugged her back. 

You grinned at her. "I finished my schedule earlier so I thought why not come to support you too?" You remembered the bag. "Oh, I brought your favourite drink too!" You took out the drink and gave it to your older sister who beamed back at you. 

"Thanks, dongsaeng! You're the best." 

You turned your attention to your favourite unnie to see her already looking at you with a motherly smile. "Wan-unnie!" You greeted her loudly, bringing her figure into your much taller one. You were sure you attracted a lot of attention but you could care less at the moment. 

She wrapped her arms around your waist, snuggling into your chest. "What are you doing here?" She asked quietly after pulling back from the hug, her eyes knowing. 

You gave her a wink. "To support you and Seulgi-unnie, of course. Why else?" 

"But Seul's the only one competing," she frowned. "Are you here because of me?" 

You gave her a warm smile this time, her hair softly. "I'm here because of you both and stop that, Unnie," you gave her a knowing look. "You're not burdening me and I really want to be here." 

Her eyes widened. "How do you-" 

"I know what you're thinking and I'm serious," you sure looked serious to her. You then pulled out her favourite drink, Gongcha, and she lit up. "This is how serious I am about being here." 

She took it with wide eyes. "Liza! You are seriously too much." 

You laughed out loud, bringing her into a side hug. "If this is me being too much then I'm not doing a good job, Unnie." 

She nudged your rib and you laughed again, eventually settling down along with Wendy while Seulgi went to do whatever she needed to do. 

For a while, the two of you only observed whatever was going on and you noticed no one dared to greet you both because almost all of them were rookies. You shook your head in amusement and diverted your attention towards the fans, waving at them for a bit to give them the interaction they deserved. They didn't know you were going to be there so it should be a pleasant surprise. 

"Unnie," you leaned into her. "Should I introduce you to people?" 

She turned towards you and raised her eyebrow in question. "Why would you do that?" 

You rolled your eyes playfully. "So people would know you more and next time I'm not here, they would come and talk to you," you answered simply whilst looking around for juniors that you know. You saw ITZY somewhere, (G)I-DLE was behind you and NCT was around so they should be enough. You and Wendy obviously already knew NCT so only the other two groups left for you to introduce Wendy and yourself to. They obviously already know who you were but networking never hurt, right?

"Do you even know them?" She knew you too well. 

You shrugged. "Then we'll introduce ourselves together," you grinned, making her roll her eyes and gave you a shove which you laughed at. 

You heard no more complaints from her so you waited for the right time before turning around and giving the girls closest to you, Yuqi and Shuhua, a bow with your head. Upon seeing the gesture the both of them turned wide-eyed and bowed back, looking starstruck. 

"Hello, I'm Eli and this is Wendy," you gave them a warm smile. They bowed again, "I'm Yuqi and this is Shuhua." 

They still look starstruck so you laughed lowly, waving your hand dismissively. "I know who you are. I love your songs, by the way, you guys are doing great." 

The comment only made them even more starstruck as they bowed again, thanking you furiously, making Wendy laugh and nudge you. "You're making them nervous, Liza," she teased you, making you shove her lightly on the shoulder. 

"It's okay, Wendy-sunbaenim. We appreciate the comment very much." Yuqi commented, smiling brightly. 

"We're big fans too," Shuhua added quietly, her accent coming out.

You grinned, winking at her. "Thank you very much. You're very pretty, Shuhua," you couldn't help but comment and she blushed heavily while Wendy nudged you harder this time. "Liza! Stop being so flirty, goodness." 

You laughed out loud, throwing your head back. "I'm sorry! I'm just telling you the truth, Shuhua. I'm sorry if that made you uncomfortable, it wasn't my intention," you sobered up and bowed apologetically at her. 

"No, no," she shook her head fervently. "It's okay, Eli-sunbaenim. I should be thanking you for the compliment so thank you," she bowed her head in thanks. 

Before you or Wendy could reply, the rest of their bandmates scooted closer to introduce themselves and the both of you talked some more, Wendy eventually being more comfortable in the interaction. After the interaction with them, you brought Wendy closer to the ITZY girls to see them already looking at you and just like (G)I-DLE, their eyes turned wide as they all stood up to greet you both. 

You and Wendy bowed back, also bowing to the surrounding people that also stood up to bow to you. At times like this, you realised you're a senior and that almost scared you a bit.

"Hello, we're Eli and Wendy from Red Velvet." 

The girls gave you a smile and replied back by saying their names one by one. "We love Zimzalabim, Wendy-sunbaenim and Eli-sunbaenim! We also love all the songs from the album." 

Your eyes grew wide. "Really? Thank you much!" You turned to Wendy, seeing her nod in agreement. "I love your new song too! The dance and the song just go well together," you gave them a warm smile. "Keep up the good work." 

They all bowed in thanks. "Do you have a bias in Red Velvet?" You couldn't help but ask albeit teasingly, Wendy nudging you in protest. Seriously, you were going to get bruises from all her nudges today. 

The girls giggled, all nodding. "Ooh, I want to know who they are! I bet it's Irene-unnie, though, Unnie," you pouted at Wendy, making the other girls and the fans coo. How can the fans see anything from that kind of distance?

Wendy patted your head lovingly, tiptoeing adorably. "It's okay, Eli-ah. We can never compete against her anyway," she grinned and you laughed. 

You turned back towards the girls and they all said theirs at the same time. Strangely, you heard your name in there. 

"Who said my name?" You asked wide-eyed. 

Ryujin raised her hand shyly, making you gasp. "Oh my god this is amazing," you turned towards Wendy. "Unnie, I'm her bias," you whispered at her loudly, making her and the girls laugh. 

You turned back towards Ryujin. "Really, Ryujin-ah?"

She nodded and gave you a sincere smile. "You've been my inspiration since my trainee days and your journey helped encouraged me to continue training so thank you, Eli-sunbaenim." She gave you a 90-degree bow and you bowed back, feeling very touched. You didn't plan to cry today so you held back your tears, smiling tearily at her instead.

"That means a lot to me," you took her hands in yours, giving it a slight squeeze. She blushed in return. "Thank you very much, Ryujin-ah." 

She nodded, "Of course, Sunbaenim." 

You shook your head, giving her hand a last squeeze before letting go. "Unnie is fine, Ryujin-ah. That's to all of you, too, you can just call me Eli-unnie." 

They all looked at each other with wide eyes before nodding, seemingly in disbelief that they could call you unnie. Wendy looked at you with proud eyes, amazed at the progress you've made in the past few years. A few years ago you wouldn't even greet someone because of how shy you were. 

"Eli... unnie?" Yuna stuttered. "Is it okay if we ask for your number?" 

You nodded enthusiastically, a warm smile on your face. "Of course, we should go out for coffee sometime, okay? I'll bring Yeri too if you'd like." Knowing Yeri was closer to their age, they'd probably be more comfortable compared to only being with you. 

"We would love that, Unnie, thank you." This time it was Lia who replied, her face adorned with a sweet smile. 

You're glad you've made some new friends. 

"So, how was waiting for me? I saw you went around talking to people," Seulgi smiled teasingly at you, nudging Wendy. 

"Liza dragged me to meet people with the excuse so I wouldn't be lonely next time around," Wendy rolled her eyes playfully, a smirk on her face. "She's just trying to flirt with people." 

You gasped dramatically, hand on your chest. "Unnie! I did all that for you and this is how you repay me?" 

They both scoffed. "Yeah, right. Did you even interact with them, Seungwan-ah?" Seulgi turned to Wendy. 

She shook her head. "It was mostly Eli. I got to talk to some girls but only slightly. They were scared of me, I think." 

You pouted at her. "Oh, come on, Unnie. They're not scared of you, they're shy. You're a lot older than them, after all." You couldn't help but tease your unnie, hiding your snickers.

She glared, reaching out her hand to slap you on the arm and you dodged it expertly. "Yah!"

You grinned at her, coming over to her side to embrace her in your warm hug. "Well, as long as you won't be too lonely without me next time. My mission was accomplished." 

Despite the teasing, she appreciated the gesture. "Fine, thank you, Liza. I appreciate it." 

You nodded, hugging her tighter. "Hey, I want to be hugged too!" Seulgi protested with a pout, making you laugh and gesture to her to come to your side for a hug.

Her pout turned into a wide grin and she came to your side, hugging your taller frame in her familiar arms.

You'll never let your members feel lonely. Not if you can help it.