Wendy's back. 

After eight months, she's making a comeback in a group activity for BoA's Milky Way cover. You couldn't express how excited you were to have your favourite Unnie back. You also knew she'd been waiting for this day to come as she's even more notorious with her practice so her physique and mental would be strong to come back into the spotlight. All of you had assured her to take as much time as needed to recover, that the fans will always be patiently waiting for her whenever she felt ready to come back but she insisted that she was. What was the point of waiting even longer if she's ready to come back now? 

She wasn't supposed to do much physical stuff yet so whenever all of you had practice, she'd tag along to the training room, cheering you on from the sidelines and making all of you feel less tired. After not having her bubbly self next to you for a few months, all of you always look back to check on her once in a while during practice, a smile always lighting up your faces after you did. Her presence truly made everything felt better. 

"Wendy-unnie, I'm so happy you're coming back. I bet the fans will freak out." You spoke lowly into her neck during one of your breaks, arms around her tiny waist. You've been clingier with her whenever she was in proximity and all the members had noticed, though they let you be because they knew how much her absence affected you. Wendy, of course, noticed as well but she welcomed the clinginess considering she'd been missing your warm hugs. She got them often but they were light hugs as you didn't want to injure her or hurt her in any way. Now, she got to have your hugs in full force and she was basking in the attention. 

"You think so?" She chuckled and you smiled at the sound. 

You tightened your hug a little bit more before pulling back, wrapping your arms around her shoulders instead so she would be the one cuddling into you now. She snuggled into your chest and you the back of her head soothingly. "I know so. They've been trying to find hints in everything we post to see if we'd give spoilers of you being with us," you chuckled and she did the same, closing her eyes in bliss.

She wouldn't explain the feeling but she felt complete being back with her members. She'd never had to be separated from them for too long so this experience only solidified her decision to be in Red Velvet and she wouldn't even dare to imagine what it would be if she wasn't. Her members were the biggest strength during her recovery, along with her family, and she didn't know if she'd be back this soon if it wasn't for the members. 

"That reminded me," you leaned back a little without letting go of your hold on her and she opened her eyes to see where you were looking. She followed your gaze towards her soulmate. She giggled even before you said anything and you grinned at the sound. "Seulgi-unnie, the fans could see a little of Wendy-unnie when you posted that story, you know," you gave a mischievous smile. "I know you and Sooyoung-unnie tried to cover her but it's too late!" 

Seulgi came closer with a pout, hand Wendy's head when she got closer. She couldn't help but give her best friend little touches whenever they were within distance because even though she'd never been the touchy type, she'd make exceptions for her because she'd missed her soulmate too much. She had to make sure that she was really there with her. "I know, the fans were commenting everywhere but they didn't want to get their hopes up either so they were still in limbo with that one." 

You turned your gaze towards the girl in your arms this time, looking at her with warmth and love painted in your eyes. "See, Unnie? They'll welcome you back with open arms, chanting your name and even crying because everyone had missed you so much. We've missed you so much."

Your words caused her to look up at you with teary eyes and you kissed her forehead softly, hugging her closer. Seulgi joined the hug from the side and the three of you revelled in the warmth. 

"I've missed you all so much. Thank you for always taking the time visiting me at the hospital, your visits truly helped me feel and become better." 

You pulled back with your signature smile on your face. "Of course, Unnie. I told you we'd be with you every step of the way, didn't we?" 

Wendy brought a hand up to your cheek and you leaned into her touch, making her smile happily. "Yes, you did. I knew I can always count on you." 

Hearing that made your heart swell. You knew she had her doubts even after almost seven years together but maybe this break really showed that you were there for life. 

"Hey, what about me? I'm your best friend!" Seulgi whined, causing you and Wendy to laugh and turn towards her to see the adorable pout on her lips and her chubby cheeks puffing. 

"Aigoo, our baby Seulgi," Wendy leaned up tp pinch her cheek and Seulgi grinned, jumping a little in her seat. "Of course I know I can always count on my members. We're family, right?" 

You and Seulgi nodded in unison, making Wendy smile. Her smile dimmed a little though when a thought came into her mind. "I'm a little chubbier now because of the meds.... would the fans notice? Would they comment on it?" 

You frowned but you gave her a determined gaze. You let go of the hug to put both your hands on her shoulders. "Unnie, they'd be happy looking at how happy and healthy you are. They wouldn't care about how chubby you've become, I assure you. They'd probably comment on how they want to eat your cheeks again." 

Your reassurance made her laugh and remember the responses she gave when a fan expressed their desire to eat her chubby cheeks. 

"Yeah, Wan-ah, they'd be happy to see you so healthy and will probably thank your mum for feeding you well." 

She giggled. "Yeah, you're probably right. Thank you." 

Both you and Seulgi wrapped an arm around Wendy in a hug, happy to have her in your arms again, for real this time. "Always." 

When her teasers dropped for Milky Way and the video you had filmed for caution against air pollution aired, the fans freaked out and true to your words, the comments were all positive and they wanted to eat her cheeks even more now. They all commented on how healthy and happy she had looked and just like Suelgi said, some of them even thanked Mama Son for feeding her daughter well. 

"See, Unnie? They're happy to have you here after eight months. They had waited patiently and they're feeling rewarded for it." 

Wendy smiled, looking at all the replies on the various SNS accounts they were all posted on. "Yeah, I'm happy to be back too."