Red | Sung Hanbin ZB1

Ch.3 Fly High

It's been half a year since they last talked. Scarlett really did what she said and treated Hanbin like a stranger. And ever since the new school year started, he had never seen her again. When he asked her classmates where she went, they told him that she had dropped out from school. He was caught off guard by the news; he wasn't expecting her to completely disappear out of his sight.

Boys Planet was coming to its final episode. Hanbin had placed first from the very first episode. He caught everyone's attention with his hard work that was exhibited through his skills, his phenomenal stage presence, and his endearing personality.

"Scarlett, have you finished packing?"

It was like deja vu.

"Yes, Mom." Scarlett replied.

Mrs. Lee went into Scarlett's room expecting to see a messy room with empty suitcases, but this time, Scarlett actually finished packing.

"Are you sure you're going to be fine in LA alone?"

"Don't worry, Mom. I know LA like the back of my hand."

"I know, but it will be the first time you live away from your dad and I."

"I'll be fine. I promise to call home from time to time, so don't miss me too much, alright?"

"My baby girl is all grown up now." Mrs. Lee patted Scarlett's head. "How come you're all dressed up? Are you going out?"

It was the night before Scarlett leaves for LA, and it was also the night of the finals of Boys Planet. Scarlett had decided to return to LA to receive further training in choreographing in pursuit of her dream. But no matter how determined she was to cut ties with Hanbin, she still wanted to be there to witness his debut.

Scarlett sat down in the large stadium, somewhere to the right of the seats of the final top 9. She looked at the stage, feeling incredibly proud of Hanbin, who would be standing there soon.

Right before the live broadcast started, the 18 boys went on the stage and stood in a circle. There he was. Scarlett immediately spotted Hanbin even though the whole arena was still dark. Tears welled up in her eyes as soon as she saw the figure she missed dearly.

She never doubted Hanbin's ability on stage, and he never let her down either. Throughout the night, her gaze followed Hanbin wherever he went. She couldn't help but get emotional as she saw Hanbin performing on stage in front of such a large audience, made up of people who loved and supported him.

'He really belongs to the stage,' she thought to herself.

Then it was the most nerve-racking moment of the night - announcement of the final top 9. Hanbin had placed first consistently, so he was considered to be pretty safe. However, drastic changes in ranking was also expected since Star Creators could only vote for their one-pick this round. Plus, he dropped to 3rd place in interim rankings, so it was possible that he couldn't secure his first place.

Scarlett held her breath as the top 2 was being announced. And when she saw Hanbin show up on the big screen, she broke down crying the same time as Hanbin.

'You really did it, Bin-ah.'

Scarlett tightly clasped her hands as the first place was being announced. In her heart, she chanted Hanbin's name. First place didn't turn out to be who she had hoped for, but she was happy for Zhang Hao because she knew Hanbin must have felt the same too. Hao gave Hanbin a lot of emotional support throughout the show, and for that, Scarlett was entirely grateful to him.

After giving their speech, the two walked up the steps together to their respective places. After Hanbin sat down, he kept looking around the arena to spot his fans in order to greet and thank them. Scarlett couldn't look away from his face because it had an expression of pure joy and bliss.

And it was then, he met eyes with her.

He froze and she teared up. Their gaze was filled with overwhelming emotions. No words were needed for them to understand each other. Hanbin also felt tears threatening to fall from his eyes, so he quickly looked up to the ceiling. And when he looked at Scarlett again, a smile formed on both of their faces.

After the show had ended, Hanbin looked again to where Scarlett sat, but she was already nowhere to be seen. It was when he finally got his phone back, he saw a message from her.

'Congratulations. Bin-ah, let's promise to work hard so that if we ever meet again, we can proudly tell each other about how we've become the person we aspired to be.'

And to this, he replied, 'I promise. Jiwoo-ya, we will definitely meet again.'

And it was this night, Scarlett set a goal for herself: become a choreographer well-known enough to choreograph for ZB1 before they disband.