Red Velvet Joy hinted that it may take a while longer for the group to make a comeback.
According to a report by All Kpop, Joy posted her heartfelt message to Reveluvs on bubble mentions. In her message, Joy confessed that she has been waiting for a long time.
While she did not mention a comeback, fans believed that she was referring to Red Velvet's limited activities this year. She said that, even though she has been waiting for a long time, it seems that there will be more waiting in store. She said she feels apologetic to the fans.
In another cryptic post, Joy said that because she debuted at a young age, she was also prone to immaturity and focusing merely on achieving fame. She said that there may have been a lot of things that she did not realize before but she is now reflecting on them. She added that she is uncertain how much of the truth she could reveal but promised that she will just be as honest as she can.
Many fans believe that Joy could be referring to an extended hiatus because of Irene's recent attitude controversy.
It can be recalled that the scandal stemmed from a post from a photoshoot editor hinting that a female idol subjected her to rude behavior. It was later revealed that Irene was the idol that was being mentioned in the post.
While she apologized for her actions, she continued to receive criticism. Some netizens also called for her to step down from Red Velvet to protect the remaining members.
As a result of Irene's controversy, several Red Velvet events were canceled including an online fan meeting. Their performance at SBS' Ontact 2020 Gangnam Festival was also edited out of the televised rerun of the event.
Fans concluded that the network may have been trying to steer clear of the controversy when they decided to cut out Red Velvet's performance. However, in a statement, SBS explained that their decision had nothing to do with Irene's controversy.
They said that they had to edit out some parts of the broadcast because there was not enough time allotted to air everything on TV, Soompi reported.
It can be recalled that the last time Red Velvet made a comeback with five complete members was last December for The ReVe Festival Finale.
After Wendy got severely injured from an accident during rehearsals for SBS' Gayo Daejeon and went on an extended break for rehabilitation and recovery, SM Entertainment launched Red Velvet Irene and Seulgi, the group's first sub-unit, last July.
Wendy rejoined the group for their cover of BoA's "Milky Way" to celebrate the singer's 20th debut anniversary.
