"Unnie?" You opened the door after you knocked, knowing the leader was probably not in the mood for answering the door. She was lying on her bed with her eyes closed and completely buried under her blanket. You saw her eyes opened and her head turned towards the door, ready to tell off anyone who dared to open her door without her permission when she saw it was you, which caused her eyes to soften and you saw the insecurities and pain there. 

You gave her a sympathetic smile before closing the door softly and approaching her figure, sitting on the edge of her bed. She pulled out her right hand from under the blanket and reached towards you with her palm up, prompting you to encase her small hand in your larger and warmer one. You the back of her hand and looked at her, asking her silently whether she would like to be hugged to which she softly nodded, and you immediately pulled the blanket up a little to get under it. As soon as you were settled, Irene moved to rest her head on your chest, wrapping her left arm around your waist tightly. 

You wrapped your left arm around her back and kissed the topped of her head, humming some random but calming song that popped up In your head. After a little while, you felt Irene release a big sigh and you knew she was ready to talk.

You hugged her a little tighter before you began. "How are you feeling, My Sunshine?" 

Irene let out a tired chuckle, eyes already watering by being so comfortable in your arms. She felt safe like nothing could harm her. She wanted to stay there forever. "I'm not much of a sunshine now, Eli-ah." 

You let out a hum and eventually gave a little shrug, careful not to jostle her too much. "You'll always be my sunshine, Hyun-unnie." 

The simple statement was enough for Irene to let go, completely relaxing into your embrace as she buried her face onto your chest. You felt her shake as she let out the tears she had been trying to keep in. 

"I'm here, Unnie, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere," you kept repeating the words as she sobbed, you trying to provide comfort by her back and kissing her head occasionally. You didn't ask her to stop, you just let her cry her worries away and just held her there. You knew this was what she needed. 

"This will pass too, Unnie. You'll get through this. We're not going anywhere, okay? We're here with you and for you, don't you worry." She needed to know that everything will be okay and she had the full support of her members. 

Her sobs eventually turned into sniffles before fully stopping, having no more tears left to cry. She felt exhausted like all her energy had been out, but she was calm now. She was glad that she could let that all out without feeling judged, not like she ever did when it came to you. 

You looked down and her cheek with your right hand, causing her to scoot away a little so she could look at you in the eyes. 

You gave her that special smile. "Are you feeling better?" 

"Much." She couldn't help but smile back, causing yours to widen at the beautiful sight.

"I'm glad then, Unnie. Do you want to talk about how you're feeling?" 

She sighed, putting her head down on your chest again so you resumed your on her back. "I already apologised but the damage is done. Right now every news article is talking about this and people are beginning to question my integrity." 

She stopped but you knew she wasn't done so you waited. "Everything I've ever worked for the past years is gone, Eli-ah. I'm finished." 

"Hey," you immediately interjected, cupping her cheek again so she would look at you, "you're not finished. Your journey with Red Velvet and as Irene is far from over. We're going to celebrate our twentieth anniversary, remember?" 

She couldn't hold in her chuckles as she softly punched your chest in response to your joke, causing you to chuckle as well. It might be in the form of a joke but you knew she knew you were serious.

"Your work is still with you, your image and integrity are still intact. Our real fans, our ReVeluv, believed you had reasons for everything you do, so they knew if you acted like you did it was with a reason." 

You stopped to make sure she digested everything you were saying. "Yes, you made a mistake but you had apologised and they had accepted it, right? Your issue with them is done and they had removed their post because the issue is solved between you, and that's what matters right?" 

She opened to respond but you shook your head, causing her to pout adorably but nodded nonetheless. "Everything we do is always wrong to someone, Unnie, no matter how right our actions are. We can't please everybody and we shouldn't have to, because we are human." 

You then let out a smirk and she knew you were about to be flirty. "Although you're crowned as a goddess and does look way above us average humans..." 

She hit your shoulder with greater force this time and you laughed out loud, prompting her to smile at the sound and sight. "Eli-aaaah, whyyyyyyy." 

"Because it's true!" 

Irene just shook her head in amusement though her cheeks were painted red, which invited you to pinch her cheek softly. 

"I'm serious, Unnie. I'm glad you had admitted your wrongs and had apologised but what's done is done. I think what's best for you is to focus on what we have coming up and show everyone that you couldn't be torn apart just because you were involved in a scandal. What do you say?" 

You let her digest everything you said and you really took a look at your guardian. Her face was tired and there was some leftover exhaustion but you could see that she was relieved, completely calm after letting out her worries.

"Maybe you're right. I had done everything I could and had apologised to the person that's actually hurt by me, which they had accepted, so now I should move on and focus on our next project." 

You gave her your warm smile. "Right, and remember that you're never alone, okay? We're here with you every step of the way." 

"I know." She then gave you that breathtaking smile of hers and you wondered what you had done in your past lives to deserve being loved by someone like your Joohyun-unnie. 

"Thank you, El. I know I can always count on you." 

You gave her another smile, accompanied by a wink this time. "That's why I'm here for." 

"I love you, El." 

"I love you too, Joohyun-unnie." 

She gave you a soft kiss on your right cheek then proceeded to put her head on your chest again, relaxing into the warmth. This too shall pass, and you and the members would be by her side every step of the way. Always.