Irene opened up about her bond with Red Velvet maknae Yeri in a video uploaded August 14, revealing she's known her since Yeri was a 12-year-old trainee.

Irene has named Yeri her favorite dongsaeng — and the reasoning goes back almost two decades.
In a video uploaded August 14 to the online channel 차린 건 쥐뿔도 없지만 under the title 아이린 시청금지 이 언니가 왜 이리 무리해, the Red Velvet leader revealed she has known the group's maknae since Yeri was 12 years old and still a trainee. Irene was 20 at the time. Yeri, born in 1999, is now 28.
"As time passed, seeing Yeri's baby-like appearance made me feel like I was returning to my childhood self," Irene said. A person who can bring her back to that unguarded, girlish version of herself is someone she considers very important. Yeri is exactly that person.
She's told Yeri repeatedly: "Being with you makes me feel like I'm returning to my childhood a bit."
The moment aired as Red Velvet recently released their summer mini album Velvet Summer. Sixteen years of watching someone grow up and still calling them your comfort person — that's the lore.
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