Red | Sung Hanbin ZB1

Ch.5 It's Been A While

Scarlett looked at the members with a satisfied expression.

"There really isn't anything I could comment on. You outperformed my expectations. Y'all must have practised really hard. I don't think I'll need to come back again."

"No, Noona, you have to keep monitoring us!" The members formed a strong bond with Scarlett as they spent practice sessions together.

"I bought you guys some food and drinks. Please eat well so you have enough energy for your comeback."

"Let's eat together," Hao invited. "You've worked hard as much as we did."

"That's right, we haven't really spent time together outside of practice." Jiwoong added.

"Alright, thank you." Scarlett gladly sat down in a circle with the members, between Jiwoong and Taerae.

"Scarlett, how long will you be staying in Seoul for?" Taerae initiated the conversation as the others started digging into the food.

"I don't have plans to go back to LA yet."

"Have you lived in LA for your whole life?" Ricky got excited talking about the city he used to live in.

"No, I actually lived in Korea for a few years before I went back to LA to study dance and choreography."

"What made you decide to come back to Korea?" asked Yujin.

"Because I wanted to choreograph for ZB1?" Scarlett told the truth in a joking manner.

"Eiiii" The members were not convinced at all.

Scarlett chuckled at their reaction but had no intention to further explain herself. "Please excuse me. I need to go to the bathroom."

When Scarlett came out of the bathroom, she saw Hanbin standing outside.

"Can we talk for a bit?" He asked hesitantly.

After getting a slight nod from Scarlett, he led Scarlett into an empty practice room.

"How have you been?" Hanbin broke the lingering silence.

"I'd say... I've been living diligently, I guess?" Scarlett still couldn't bring herself to look Hanbin in the eye.

"It's nice to see you again. You really kept your promise—you achieved your dream and became a professional choreographer. And as expected from you, the choreography was a masterpiece."

"I did try hard to keep up with your footsteps."

"You did really well." He complimented her in a tone of warmth and approval. "The pre-chorus part in the choreography, though, I think I deserve a bit of credit."

"So you did recognise it."

"How could I not? It was one of my proudest performances. I recognised it the first time I watched the choreography." His words made them reminisce about the good old days, and there was a change in atmosphere.

"I missed you, Jiwoo-ya."

She trembled as she heard the once familiar voice gently call her name. Her toughness shattered at once, and tears threatened to fall.

"Sorry, I was selfish when I chose to leave three years ago." Scarlett looked down at her toes. "But if I was given the chance again, I'd still make the same choice. During this time, I grew a lot as a choreographer, and it also made me listen to my heart and realise what I really wanted."

"There's no need to apologise, Jiwoo. You chose what's best for you, and that was exactly what you should have done."

"Have you found someone? You must be popular among girl idols." The mere thought of another girl having all of Hanbin's love and attention broke her heart to pieces, but who was she to complain when she chose to leave him in the first place.

"Idols are prohibited from dating."

"That's what y'all want people to believe."

"Every bit of my energy went into fulfilling a promise that I made with an important someone; I didn't have the capacity to date. Even when times were tough, I imagined the day when I would get to see her again and get to brag to her about how I've come all the way to become someone the younger me would be proud of.

"I think she would be very, very proud of you too."

"How about you? Have you found someone?" He asked her the same question, giving her the courage to respond more daringly.

"Can I assume that you're hoping to hear a negation?"

Although the answer was a definitive yes, Hanbin hesitated to answer because he knew what that would imply.

"You can't answer that question because you know that you can't take responsibility for your answer, am I right?" She knew him too well.

Hanbin stayed silent. Every single word he had said so far showed how much he still cared about Scarlett, but there was only so much he could do because he knew that once they crossed the line of being friends, he had nothing to offer her.

Scarlett then left the room and went back to the practice room where the other members were. And it was like their conversation never happened.

.

"I'm assuming that your chat with her didn't go well?" Matthew went to Hanbin again that evening.

"Pretty obvious, isn't it?"

"I don't get it. What went wrong?"

"Reality gets in the way sometimes in life."

"Hyung, I think you're complicating things too much. Ask yourself what you really want. Do you want to let her go again?"

Hanbin had a tendency to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, making him a very responsible and reliable hyung and leader, but he always put himself last.

"No, but how can I ask her to stay when there's nothing I can give?"

.

After a few weeks, it was finally time for their comeback. The members were getting ready in the waiting room at the backstage of a music show. There was a knock on their door, and soon after, the door opened to reveal their choreographer.

"Scarlett!" Jiwoong was the first to spot her. "You came to visit us!"

"It's your first stage. Of course I have to come monitor your performance. Don't let me down."

After greeting all the members, she walked towards Hanbin with a gentle smile.

"Hanbin-ssi, can we talk for a while? I believe we have some unfinished business."

Hanbin was slightly shocked, but he followed her out of the waiting room to the end of the corridor, where there's a hidden corner that very few people pass by.

"I thought you wouldn't want to talk to me anymore." He said to her.

"Sorry, I was being overly emotional that day. Bin-ah, I don't want you to feel burdened. I did not come back to ask anything from you."

"No, don't say that, Jiwoo-ya."

"Do you know that feeling when everything is going so well, but still somehow your heart feels empty? You work even harder to try and fill that void, but nothing seems to work."

Hanbin knew exactly what she was talking about because he had been feeling the same. He enjoyed every moment on stage, every chance to interact with fans. Those things made him feel alive. But every night after he got off work, he felt an empty void inside him.

"The bizarre thing is that, though, the moment I saw you in the practice room through that glazing, that feeling of emptiness just vanished into thin air. You have always been that missing piece that I needed. That's why I'm not going to run away again. I'll stay somewhere close to you, so take all the time you need, and this time, I will wait for you."

.

Their love for each other goes beyond words. Scarlett understands Hanbin's internal conflict, and Hanbin knows that Scarlett's heart will always have a space for him. No one can say for sure if they will end up together, but to them it probably doesn't matter that much—not every relationship needs a 'happily ever after'. If they were meant to be, they would always find their way to each other.

.

The End