Acting was something exciting yet it made you nervous. The shooting of the new drama was underway and you were into a new world of table reading, chemistry building, and character study so you could portray the character as best as you could. Doing something so new was both exciting and exhausting, and the members could tell that it began to take a toll on you. So, they tried their best to support the second pillar of the group so you could thrive in the new environment. When the first script reading was going to happen, Joy made sure you knew what to expect and how to handle your anxiousness and nervousness; she gave some suggestions about how she dealt with it and maybe it would be helpful for you too. 

It was the day before you had your table read and you were trying to calm your nerves because you do get nervous when you had to do something new. You were feeling much better now since Irene had been trying to calm your nerves by cuddling with you, making you laugh, and giving you proofs of how you've overcome your nerves with doing new things before this and how you could do this too. You tend to overthink and your members knew that, so she did remind you (just like she said she would) to try and tone down the overthinking because it worsened your nerves and anxiety instead. 

All of you had just finished dinner. Seulgi wanted to cook this time and all of you teased how she's becoming the chef in the family now. You even said to her, "Then maybe we should make a schedule now so I'm not the only one who does the cooking!" She whined and laughed and all of you laughed with her, with you giving her a hug afterwards to let her know you were joking and didn't mean to pressure her into cooking for everyone. She gave you her warm smile and kissed your cheek, her own chubby cheeks turning slightly red from the display of affection. 

After you were finished, Joy immediately wrapped her arm around your shoulders when you were about to turn around to go to turn in for the night. You looked at her with a raised eyebrow, a teasing smile on your lips. "Yes, Sooyoung-unnie? How can I help you?" 

She giggled, her eyes twinkling in happiness. You love this look on her. "I was thinking since tomorrow is your script reading, maybe I can give you some suggestions?" 

Your eyes widened in surprised and you nodded furiously, making her laugh. She pinched your cheek. "You are too cute, dongsaeng-ah. Let's go to my room and we can talk!" 

You made your way to her room, which was next to Yeri's, whilst leaving a pouting Irene behind. She didn't get the hug you usually give before you go to bed and she didn't know what time you were going to finish your talk. Oh well, she'll just wait for you and go to your room whenever she hears the door to your room opens. 

After you settled on the older's bed, she turned to you with a serious look on her face. You nodded. 

"Okay, lay it on me." 

Joy grinned. "Okay, usually table reading is to see who you're going to act with and what kind of chemistry you have to build. I know it can be nerve-wracking," Joy added once she saw you took a deep breath. "But it's also fun because you'd know what your character is getting herself into and how you can play her." 

She stopped there, letting you process her words before continuing once she knew you understood. "You can also observe the other actors there and how they act, the tone of their voices during certain scenes and see if you can pick up anything from there." 

You silently nodded, looking deep in thought. "You should introduce yourself as well, make some friends." You looked up then, an eyebrow raised in question. Joy smiled. "If you make their acquaintances, it would be easier for you to ask for suggestions on your acting or consult with them. Trust me." 

"Ah, that makes sense." 

Joy scooted closer to you, hands on your thighs. "So, do you feel less nervous?" 

You looked at her and nodded, giving her a beaming smile. "Yes actually, I feel more excited than nervous now. Thank you for your help, Unnie." 

"You're always welcome, little sister!" She hugged you tightly, you hugging back with the same force. "I know you'll be great. I believe in you, we all do." 

You pulled back and cooed, patting her squishy right cheek softly. "Thank you Unnie, that means a lot to me."

She patted your head and kissed your cheek lightly before standing up from the bed. "You should sleep, you have a big day tomorrow!" 

You agreed, getting out of her bed before hugging her one last time. "Thank you again, Sooyoung-unnie! Sweet dreams~"

She giggled. "Sweet dreams, Eli-ah." 

The next morning was a flurry of emotions and actions. Your table reading was at noon so you had ample time to get ready and prepare what you need to prepare, and for your members to show their support. Irene cooked your favourite fluffy pancakes, which you thanked her with a kiss on her cheek, and Wendy prepared your lunch for you. The other youngest of the group made sure to give you hugs and words of encouragement, and Seulgi made sure you left in a good mood by joking with you and asking you to draw with her. As you receive the text that your manager was waiting downstairs, you straightened your clothes one more time and shouldered your bag given by one of the fansites for your birthday. 

"Alright, wish me luck." 

They all came to give you a group hug and gave you cheers, making you laugh. Irene walked with you to the door. 

"Call me if you need me, okay? I have no practice or schedule today so don't worry about disturbing me, you got it?" She was so serious about it it made you chuckle, bringing her smaller figure to yours in a warm embrace. "I'll text you when I get there and I'll tell you how things went when I get home, okay?" 

She looked up at you and gave you her warm smile, making you smile back. You kissed the top of her head lovingly. 

"Okay, just have fun, Eli-ah." 

"I will, Hyun-unnie. I love you." 

She tiptoed to give your cheek a sweet kiss. "I love you too. Now, go or you'll be late!" 

You tightened your hold on her once more before pulling back and waving on your way out. She shook her head and waved back, chuckling in amusement with love clearly written in her gaze. She's sure you'd do well. 

The table reading went with a breeze. You got to know your casts and they got to know the new addition of the acting industry that was going to be the lead in the drama.  They were quite apprehensive about it before, considering people do consider idol actors as different from regular actors but they got to see a glimpse of your acting skills and they were quite impressed. Plus, you were so polite and was genuinely curious and serious about acting by the questions you had asked them they didn't have the heart to doubt you anymore. One of the more famous actors there also introduced herself to you and even though you could tell that she was a bit shy, you could just feel that you were going to be good friends and that she would make a good mentor for you. Han So-hee knew how it felt to be the newbie in a new environment so she made the effort of introducing herself to you. The fact that she's a fan of Red Velvet also played a part in her courageousness. 

"Eli-ssi?" You looked up from the script you were rearranging on the table, ready to step out of the room and tell your members all about your experience today. 

Your eyes widened before you cooled yourself and gave her your signature warm smile, giving her a 90-degree bow. "So-hee Sunbaenim, hello." 

She bowed back, replying to your smile with one of her own. "It's nice to be working with you, I've been a fan of Red Velvet for a while now." 

Your eyes widened in surprise this time. "Really? Thank you so much! I've watched your drama a few times too, I think you're acting is great." 

"Thank you," she giggled. So-hee was a gorgeous and natural beauty, just like your guardian, but you still think no one can even get on the Goddes' level of beauty. 

"Well, I'm looking forward to playing your older sister! I hope we can get along well." 

You smiled again. "Of course, Sunbaenim! Can I have your Kakaotalk ID so we can talk to each other?" 

She nodded. "Unnie is fine, Eli-ssi." 

You grinned back. "Then call me Eli, So-hee-unnie. My members are going to be so excited when they find out about this!" You gave her your phone so she could type in her ID. 

"Wah, do your members support you with acting?" 

You nodded furiously, eyes widening in excitement. "Very much so. Irene-unnie and Joy-unnie were the ones actually pushing me to pursue acting because I've been interested in it. I wouldn't even take on this project if it wasn't for my members."

"They're a big part of you, huh? I wish I have people around me to support me like that." 

You gave her a warm smile. "I'm sure there are many people who support you, Unnie. Who knows? Maybe we can be close and we can support each other too." 

This time she gave you a genuine, brilliant smile and you grinned, knowing she felt more comfortable with you now. "You are too cute, Eli-ah." She then tiptoed to pat your head, making you chuckle. 

"You look so much like Irene-unnie just now except she's shorter than you," you couldn't help but comment with a playful smirk on your face, which So-hee laugh.

"I guess what they say about you is true."

You raised an eyebrow in question. "And what is that?" 

"You're funny." 

Your eyes widened in exaggerated surprise causing her to giggle even more. "Thank you! Somebody who finally acknowledges that."

She shook her head in exasperation, followed by amusement-filled chuckles. "We're going to get along just fine, Eli." 

The filming that happened afterwards went very well. Yes, there were hiccups here and there and you did get frustrated at some point that Irene had to actually went to your set to calm you down but you enjoyed the process very much and learnt a lot from everything. You were playing a young to-be detective that got involved in a murder case that almost took your life, and So-hee was playing your older sister that watched from the sidelines of how the case was taking a toll on you, and how eventually she almost lost her little sister to it. The fans couldn't deny the chemistry your character had with So-hee's and they began to ship you in real life, even creating a ship name which made you both laughed. You found it amusing and you both ended up hanging out a lot and posting pictures together a lot but what you didn't know was how Irene felt jealous of your relationship with her; her feelings branched out from her insecurities of you not needing her anymore now that you found someone who's more knowledgeable than her. You knew she was acting a little bit off every time you talked about the newfound friendship with your co-star but once you realised what she was feeling, you made sure to convince her of the truth.

The first sign was a few weeks into the shooting. You were at the set until early hours in the morning and had to shoot again quite early, so So-hee invited you to have a sleepover instead of going back to the dorms and going back to the set again. You, exhausted to the bones, agreed immediately, thanking her for her generosity. As you were driven there in her car with her manager, you opened your phone to Irene's numerous texts that screamed concern all over it. The latest text she had sent was five minutes ago so you opted to call her instead, knowing she wouldn't feel rested until she heard your voice. 

She picked up on the first ring. "Eli-ah, you finished filming for today yet?" 

You giggled, your eyes turned soft whilst you looked out of the window, making sure your voice was kept low as to not disturb the other occupants of the car. "Yes, Hyun-unnie. I have to shoot again soon though, so So-hee-unnie offered to have a sleepover at her place instead." You waited for her to reply but you heard none, so you continued in a way to convince her that this was purely professional. "It's much closer than the dorms and we get to drive there together as we're shooting a scene together." 

It was silent for a little bit before she eventually replied, voice quite sullen. "Oh, okay," she sounded so disappointed you actually thought about calling your manager back to pick you up and bring you home instead. "So I won't be getting your hugs today?" 

You chuckled under your breath. Your guardian was just too cute. "Unfortunately no, Unnie. I'll make sure to give you a big one when I get home though. How about that?"

"Yeah, I'd like that." Her answers were kept short though you detected it was much lighter than before. You knew it was late and she had practice in the morning, which prompted you to coax her to sleep. "It's late, Unnie. Thank you for waiting for me and it's great to hear your voice before I go to sleep," you teased and you knew she made her blush heavily when she whined in protest. "Go to sleep, Hyun-unnie, you have practice in the morning, right? You need rest and I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" 

You could hear the smile in her voice. "Okay, Eli-ah. Good night, I love you." 

You grinned at her use of English. She's been saying I love you's in English a lot more lately and you lived for it. "I love you too. Sweet dreams, Unnie." 

"Bye-bye, El, sleep well~" she cooed and you giggled, waiting for her to disconnect the call before you lowered your phone from your lap, turning towards So-hee who you knew was looking at you. 

"Wow, you two sounded like lovers just now." 

You gave her a smirk. "Why, are you jealous, Unnie?" 

She scoffed, giving you a playful glare as she turned her body even more towards the middle seat. "Yeah, as if." 

"Well," you shrugged coolly. "Your loss," you gave her an exaggerated wink, letting her know that you were only joking. 

 She rolled her eyes good-naturedly then shook her head in amusement. "What a flirt." 

One sleepover eventually turned to a few and you bonded even more, getting closer to the beauty. She posted a lot about your outings on her SNS accounts and you did the same, though the frequency of your posts was much less as you liked to enjoy the moment without taking pictures or videos. The fans loved the interaction and your members loved to tease you about it but knew Irene was feeling quite jealous about it. It was amusing and funny at first but when they realised it was much deeper than that, and no longer wanting to live under the jealous and mopy Bae Joohyun every time you hang out with your co-star, they told you all about it, which prompted you to think about it much more, though glad you found out you weren't imagining things.

After one of your hangouts with So-hee, you found Irene waiting for you on the sofa and the rest of the members nowhere to be seen. You could feel that her aura was slightly dark and the emotions she was feeling was tumbling out her lithe form. You knew you had to talk to her about it so you greeted her with an affectionate kiss on top of her head, making her jump and turned towards you with slightly widened eyes. 

"You're home!" 

You gave her the special smile that you only reserved for her, nodding in agreement before turning your body towards the kitchen for a bottle of water. "How was your day, Unnie?" 

Irene got up from the sofa to follow you into the kitchen and leaned against the kitchen island, looking at your taller figure with mellow eyes. She could never lie with her eyes. "It was fine. We had one more practice for the debut before we film the music video." 

You finished drinking and turn towards her, excitement painted on your face and voice. "Wow, I can't wait to see the outfits and the dance, Unnie! You'll give me sneak peeks, right?" 

She laughed whilst nodding. "Of course, I wouldn't be able to hide it away from you anyway." 

You looked at her before walking towards her, putting your bag on the table on the way before putting a hand on her shoulder and the other one on her cheek, eyes softening when she leaned into the touch. 

"Tell me what's wrong, Unnie." 

She opened her eyes and looked up at you with confusion. "What do you mean? Nothing's wrong, El."

Instead of replying you brought her figure into your arms instead, enveloping her in a warm embrace. She all but melted into the hug, arms wrapped around your waist and head on your chest.

"Are you uncomfortable with my friendship with So-hee-unnie?" You asked softly, not wanting to make her feel even worse by dragging the issue even more.

She wanted to say yes so badly but she knew that you'd feel bad so she stayed mum instead, shaking her head in denial eventually. You shook your head before pulling back from the hug and being greeted by her sad pout. 

"Hyun-unnie," you made sure she was looking into your eyes. "You know I'll always need you, right?" 

You knew you hit the spot when her eyes widened in surprise and her hold on you tightened. You gave her a soft smile, running your hand on her hair in an attempt to comfort her. "I knew you felt jealous about my friendship with So-hee-unnie, and I thought it was cute but when I realised why you were jealous, I felt bad because it wasn't my intention to show you that I could be without you or the group." 

She sighed and shook her head. "You don't have to be sorry, Eli-ah. You can be friends with anyone you want and I shouldn't feel this way, right?" She released a tired sigh, looking up at you with such sad eyes you almost teared up. "But I don't know why I feel like maybe you don't need me anymore because you have other people that can take care of you now, and I'm scared of the day that you'd eventually realise that you don't need me to take care of you anymore."

A tear escaped her eye and you wiped it away, looking at her with a loving but determined gaze. "I will always need you, Unnie. We might be getting older but you're my guardian and you had taken care of me for years! I will be more independent eventually, as we all will, but I will always need you in my life, Unnie."

A few more tears escaped her eyes though you knew it was for a different reason: she was relieved that you didn't find her insecurities absurd and felt the way you did. 

"How long have you been feeling this way?" 

She shrugged, looking down with guilt and you knew she'd been hiding this from you for quite a while. 

"Unnie..." 

She looked up again, an adorable pout on her face. She huffed. "I guess I always had this fear from the start but it did become worse when you began hanging out with So-hee-ssi a lot." 

You raised an eyebrow. She never had a problem with you making friends and hanging out with your idol friends before but then again, most of them were younger than you with the exception of Nayeon and Mamamoo, and you immediately knew what the problem was. A teasing smirk made its way into your mouth and she glared, pink hues decorating her pale cheeks. 

"Yah!"

"Are you jealous that I have friends older than me that's not an idol, Unnie?" She slapped your arm in retaliation and you laughed. "Do you feel threatened that I would need them more because they know something you don't, Unnie? Because you can't be an all-rounder anymore?" 

She pouted even more but nodded nonetheless, making you coo. "Hyun-unnie, I make friends because I like the person you know, not because of what they have. It's just a coincidence that So-hee-unnie is in acting and that I can learn a lot from her about it compared to what I can from you," you grew serious, wanting her to really know how you feel. "But that wouldn't make me like her more and love you less, Unnie. What do you take me for?"

"I know, I'm sorry," she whined whilst tightening the hold she had on your waist and putting her head on your chest once more, making you shake your head in exasperation. You put your head on top of hers in relief because you could tell she felt lighter then and the problem was behind you both. 

"I know where you're coming from as I do feel jealous of the dongsaengs you get closer to sometimes but never doubt my love for you, okay?" 

She nodded cutely into your chest and you leaned back a little to press a kiss on her forehead. "I love you." 

"I love you too," she mumbled into your chest before pulling back with an eyebrow raised in a teasing manner, making you frown. Where was she going with this?

"So you feel jealous too, huh? Why haven't you said anything?" 

You stomped your feet adorably and whined. "Unnie, why did you have to bring it up?" 

She giggled, doe eyes looking up at you full of affection. "Yah, were you jealous of Jennie too?" 

You pulled back completely from the hug, shaking your head over and over while saying "Nope, I'm not talking about this" and walking away to the direction of your room with your bag in your hands. She followed closely behind you, giggling every few seconds. 

"Yah, don't you dare walk away from me! Eli-ah!" 

She proceeded to follow you into your room to demand the answer with a much lighter heart, rightfully convinced that even though you probably would make many more friends that might provide you with the things she couldn't, you'd always need her and love her as much as you do now.

Well, all is well in the Red Velvet household.