IZ*ONE’s Sakura Finally Met Her Idol, Red Velvet’s Irene—& Her Reaction Was The Cutest Thing

There’s no doubt Sakura is a true ReVeluv.
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Alicia Valley
Alicia Valley

It’s not just K-Pop lovers who can’t get enough of Red Velvet and their leader, Irene. Even idols are fans—especially IZ*ONE‘s Sakura. Sakura has been dying to meet Irene for years, and she recently revealed that she finally got her wish! Here’s how the adorable interaction went down.

Sakura has been a self-confessed ReVeluvs and Irene stan since day one. While packing for her new life as part of IZ*ONE on Mnet reality show IZ*ONE CHU, Sakura showed off her merch collection, from a custom Irene hand fan to the limited-edition Irene version of Red Velvet’s Summer Magic album.

Charmed by Sakura’s commitment to fangirling Irene, both ReVeluvs and WIZ*ONEs have been rooting for the pair to meet for years. One WIZ*ONE even paid to get into a Red Velvet fansign, just so they could get an album signed by Irene for Sakura.

They’ve come close on several occasions, such as when Sakura sat a few seats away from Irene at the MBC Idol Star Athletics Championship.

Plus, she was lucky enough to meet fellow Red Velvet member Wendy while shooting for Olive‘s Everyone’s Kitchen.

| modu_kitchen/Instagram

Many fans have been wondering whether Sakura and Irene would cross paths—but as luck would have it, it turns out the two recently did get to meet after all. And, naturally, Sakura had the cutest reaction to meeting her idol.

On the latest episode of Sakura’s Japanese radio show, Tonight Under the Sakura Tree, the IZ*ONE starlet was asked if she got to meet Irene when the two both attended the 2020 Soribada Best K-Music Awards recently. Surprisingly, Sakura revealed she did meet Irene—and told us all how it went in detail.

According to translations from Fujii Itsuki on Twitter, Sakura didn’t think she’d get a chance to meet Irene that day, even though they were at the same event together. Sakura explained that while artists usually get to watch each other’s stages while waiting, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they now have to leave after performing their own stages.

However, while Sakura was lamenting another missed Irene meeting to her manager outside the changing rooms, IZ*ONE’s stylist chimed in with an opportunity. Since the stylist also knew Red Velvet, she told Sakura that she’d introduce her to Irene and Seulgi the next time they passed by.

A nervous ReVeluv, Sakura actually told her stylist that she didn’t want to meet her idols. Why? Because she’s “just a fan“, and it would be “just unthinkable for me to intrude on them and go as far as greeting them“. Always the sweetheart, Sakura also felt bad about getting the chance to meet Irene and Seulgi without paying any money for a fansign like others would have to.

But thankfully, the stylist didn’t take no for an answer. Sure enough, she managed to introduce Sakura to both Seulgi and Irene that day. But how did Sakura react to finally getting her wish granted?

| @official_izone/Instagram

In true Sakura fashion, she politely and quietly told them, “Ah… ah… I’m a fan“. Luckily, Irene and Seulgi are used to meeting nervous Luvies, so they greeted Sakura back well, thanking her for always being with them.

| @redvelvet.smtown/Instagram

Sakura told listeners on her radio show that it was “really, really blissful time“. She even apologized to her fellow ReVeluvs for meeting the pair for free! Of course, both fandoms have been overjoyed across social media that the two finally met, enamored by Sakura’s precious reaction.

Here’s hoping “SakuRene” gets to blossom even more in the future!

Source: Fujii Itsuki
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