Getting to this point was always something you never thought would happen. Yes, when you debuted you wanted to last as long as you could with the girls you called sisters but getting to celebrate your 7th anniversary after the year that you've had was a miracle. 

It was no secret that everyone suffered from Wendy's incident and it was a tough process for the mother-figure to get where she was now: happy, healthy, and confident once again. It was rough having to watch her go through every physiotherapy and every step to restore her bodily function, and all of you rejoiced the moment she could move with little to no pain and getting to do what she loved doing again. 

When your 7th anniversary was nearing, you were getting close to your comeback as well and putting the different solo schedules on top of that, everything was hectic. You all thought of doing something fun together but with everyone being tired most of the time, eventually, you settled for a simple celebratory Vlive. 

"I wish we could do something else more fun than just a sit-down live broadcast," Yeri mumbled sadly, leaning her chin on her crossed arms on the table. 

You all looked at each other with sympathy. You and Irene naturally caught each other's eyes and conversed silently, as you often find yourself doing. After a few seconds, she tilted her head at your smirk before shaking her head in amusement, causing your smirk to widen into a small grin. 

"What? What's going on?" Joy, who had been watching your interaction, jumped in at the first chance she saw. After watching you communicate over the years, the ever-observant older sister learnt to always watch the two of you communicate in silence because that's usually when ideas were formed without any of them knowing. 

Honestly, she could never figure out just how you two do it.

"Well," you started and your members perked up, all looking at you with eagerness in their eyes, "why don't we make it fun, then? Have the staff quiz us about ourselves to test how well we actually know each other, then spoil something about the comeback for the fans?" 

They all nodded in response immediately with Yeri perking up from her glum position at the dining table. "Let's have all our managers make the quiz in secret so we'll have a fair chance of winning," she teased the leader and all of you laughed at the insinuation while the leader glared at the youngest with an adorable pout on her lips.

"YAH! I win because I'm smart, thank you very much. I never cheat!" 

Yeri smirked. "I never said you cheated, Unnie, you made that conclusion yourself so that means you cheated!" she continued to taunt the leader, sticking her tongue out which caused the oldest to get up from her seat, ready to chase the maknae down. Daughter or not, she would not be accused of something so atrocious. 

You chuckled lowly at the playful banter, loving the way Irene always became so childish when it came to Yeri. You never knew how your group would fare out be without the girl with the charming albeit mischievous gummy smile. 

Just as Irene was about to reach Yeri and the maknae was about to bolt from her seat, you reached out at the running figure, wrapping your arms around her waist and bringing her to sit on your lap instead. Irene yelped at the movement while the rest of the members gasped then laughed at what you did. They knew you were about to be slapped or given some kind of bodily harm from preventing the leader to scold the youngest.

"Settle down, children, we're not finished with the meeting," you smiled innocently and while the rest giggled, Irene turned in her albeit very comfortable seat to glare at you though no bodily harm was given to you this time. 

"I was about to get her, El! I did not cheat in any of our games!" She didn't even bother to retaliate about the 'children' part, pointing an accusing finger in the direction of the youngest with a defensive look on her face. She was truly competitive when it came to games and things she had to compete with others. 

You smiled warmly at your guardian in an attempt to calm her down. "I know, Hyun-unnie, I know. You can chase her down after we're done with the family meeting, how about that?" you placated, raising an eyebrow at her.

Yeri, who was dancing in her seat in glee from being freed from the wrath of the oldest, froze with eyes widening in horror. The other three were having a field day laughing at her reaction, with Joy being the loudest. Oh, how the tables have turned. 

Irene on the other hand just looked at you contemplatingly before shrugging, turning back towards to face the other members. "But I'm not moving." 

"Didn't say you have to." 

Wendy could only shake her head in response while Joy raised her eyebrow in question. As Irene caught the look that was aimed towards her, she raised her own eyebrow as if to challenge the younger. 

"What? It's very comfortable, you should try it sometimes." 

Joy's eyes gleamed in excitement as she brightened up in response. "Really?" she turned to you, "can I, Eli-ah?" 

Your mouth opened to reply before getting cut off by the very person offering the idea. "No." 

"What the hell," Joy scoffed, causing the other three to snicker. 

Wendy leaned up a little to pat Joy softly on the head. "You should've learnt by now, Sooyoung-ah."

Joy only pouted cutely and you almost squeal at the sight. She looked like the cute baby duck the fans had been associating her with. "I know," she whined petulantly.

You only shook your head in amusement at the discussion taking place. "Back to the celebration. Do we all agree with the idea? Is there any other thing that we can add?" 

Seulgi was the one who perked up in her seat this time. "We should have a cake and sing 'happy birthday' as well! Have the cake in the colour of Luvies and have a tiara on top of it to hint at the comeback." 

You could already envision how good that cake would look. You beamed at your first sister. "That's a great idea, Unnie!" you turned towards the leader seated on your lap with hope shining in your eyes, "can we, Hyun-unnie?" 

Irene smiled softly at you, nodding in response causing the rest of the members to cheer. "Of course, Eli-ah. It's going to be great." 

You gave her a warm smile before hugging her closer to your chest in a back hug, leaning your head on her shoulder as you nodded. This was going to be great. 

The day of the celebration came and you had monitored the fans' response prior to the event, knowing for a fact just how much they had longed to see the six of you together again, specifically seeing the leader talking and laughing with her face uncovered by her hands. 

Ever since her 'scandal' broke out last year, Irene had been more withdrawn. Not in real life with her family and closest friends, but with online interaction. She rarely posted anything on Instagram and she only came once a month to chat with the fans. All pictures with her in it included her covering her face in some way, never fully showing her face. All of you had tried to convince her that she's in the clear and she could interact with fans just like she had before, but she had been hesitant. She never wanted a repeat of what had gone down. She also became more nervous during public outings, not wanting to come across differently from what she had intended. 

Just before you reached the place that would hold the event, you ought to go through a line of at least fansite masternims that had been waiting to take pictures of you. With all six members being present, you were sure fans online had been waiting for the previews to drop. 

Just before you went out of the van with you, Irene, and Wendy inside, you turned towards the leader to see her taking deep breaths as if to calm herself down. 

"Hyun-unnie, how are you feeling?" 

She turned towards you that was sitting on the middle row with a nervous smile on her face. "I'm scared." Despite the circumstances, you were glad that she'd become more open with her feelings. 

You put a comforting hand on hers, feeling her intertwining them together. "Hey, we're right beside you, Unnie. There's probably only our own fansites waiting so there won't be any big crowds," you squeezed her hand in reassurance, "I will walk with you if you want. Will that be better?" 

With the way she was nodding the second you offered, you knew the answer even before you had finished your question. Usually, during events like this, all of you would walk with a little space from one another to give a chance for the fansites to take individual pictures of their desired idols just a little easier, even though you knew they supported all six members. You gave her that special smile she loved so much, giving her the confidence and reassurance she needed. 

"Thank you, El." 

You leaned forward to put a soft kiss on the side of her head, feeling her lean a little closer to you. You gave her hand one last squeeze before pulling back in your seat to put on your mask and get ready to get off the car. 

"Liza's right, Unnie," Wendy piped up from the back as she crawled towards the empty middle seat beside you, putting her hands on each of the leader's shoulders. In return, Irene put her own hands on top of Wendy's to squeeze them in thanks. "They'll welcome you with open arms. No pressure, okay?" 

Irene then took a deep breath before nodding, turning in her seat to give Wendy then you a genuine smile. 

You nodded towards the door. "Let's go?" 

Wendy went out first followed by you, and you waited for Irene to come out next to her door like a bodyguard. You could just imagine the narration fans would write online, causing you to shake your head with a chuckle. 

When Irene got off, you heard the shutter of the cameras intensifying but you both ignored it. You proceeded to wrap your arm around her shoulders in reassurance and she looked up at you, and you could tell she was smiling beautifully underneath her mask. With that, you waved and smiled your way into the venue. 

The venue was beautifully decorated, celebrating the 7 years Red Velvet had stayed together. It's been about a year and a half since all of you get to sit together and talk about everything in public, so you all cherished this moment as best as you could. Although you still had a script to follow, you knew the fun was only around the corner.

Your group's official position placed you at the other end of the group, just beside Wendy. You had asked if you could sit beside Joy or Irene instead since you knew they would be the most nervous (Joy because she had to be the one leading the discussion about your discography) but the staff had said you needed to sit appropriately at least for the first half of the broadcast. You begrudgingly conceded when Irene placed a placating hand on your back to reassure you that it was alright. She and Joy would be alright. 

As it started, Irene smiled genuinely as she said, "2, 3" followed by the members greeting "Happiness, we are Red Velvet!" and all felt right in the world. Truly, you have missed saying your group greeting with all the members. For the past year and a half, you had only done it by yourself or even only introducing your name as an actress, without Red Velvet's identity attached to it. You've truly missed it.

The broadcast started out slowly, with the members that were MCs and DJ leading the discussion while you, Yeri, and Irene quietly followed the discussion and piping up here and there. You sent reassuring smiles and glances towards the maknae when you noticed she was being quieter than usual, causing her to perk up a little in her seat, having a little more motivation to join in on the discussion. You knew she had been busy promoting her drama, so she was bound to be tired. With the leader, however, you basically had silent conversations with your eyes in-between listening to what your members had to say, the camera only picking up how you would stare at each other and tilting your heads at times. The only ones who noticed were the staff behind the cameras and maybe Wendy who was conscious at first as to why Irene kept looking in her direction even when she wasn't speaking, before realising the leader was looking at you. After some convincing, she finally nodded with a little happy smile and you grinned, giving her a wink. She looked away with a chuckle at your greasiness. 

Once the quizzes started, you saw how Irene perked up as her competitive self took over. You shook your head discreetly with a relieved smile, glad that she finally let herself fully enjoy the event. Joy caught your eye from her seat across from you and she tilted her head to the direction of Irene, you nodding subtlely in response. She gave a little clap that was masked by the others' responses to the game. She was relieved that Irene was finally a little louder. 

"Are you doing okay, Hyun-unnie?" you asked the leader quietly as you took a seat in Yeri's currently empty seat next to her, wrapping your left arm around her shoulders and holding her right hand with your free one. It was an ASMR segment where each member was supposed to say their gratitude towards the fans one by one and because it was using a different mic, the fans wouldn't be able to hear the other members in the back. Thus, you took this opportunity to check up on the leader who had been quieter compared to the last live broadcasts you've done in the past. 

She looked up at you with a grateful smile. Although often annoying, she was glad that you understood more than she understood herself sometimes. "I'm still a little nervous." 

You hugged her a little tighter and put your head on top of hears, her leaning her body towards your embrace. "Is that why you've been so quiet?" you asked the dreaded question. 

You were glad she was truthful because that confirmed your thoughts. She nodded into your neck and you let go of her hand to wrap your other arm around her back in a hug. You'd put them on the back of her head but you didn't want to be scolded for ruining her hair. 

"You're doing so well, Sunshine, trust me. You can talk as much as you want, okay? I know the fans have been waiting to hear you talk, so don't worry about them, okay?" You made sure your voice was low enough to not be picked up by the staff or the main mic currently used. 

For the duration of the broadcast, the other members had tried to get her to speak more with how quiet she was being. You could tell that she wanted to speak but was hesitant. Although you had managed to convince her a little, you figured she needed more of a spoken reassurance. 

Irene knew you were right about the fans who had been patiently waiting for her so with that in mind she nodded, a smile forming on her lips. You squeezed her one more time before pulling back of the hug with her favourite smile and love in your eyes.

"You're doing so well, Sunshine, I love you so much." 

Your reassurance was everything she needed. She gave you that special smile. "I love you too." 

Despite the major hurdles all of you had to go through whether individually or as a group, you would always stick together. Always. 

Plus, the fans were overjoyed by the amount of interaction you had that night, creating the many gifs and screenshots everyone could find on SNS. Yeah, Red Velvet was going to be just fine.