Chapter Text
Hanbin has never liked being a soloist.
He misses the comfort of his eight members; the way Gyuvin and Yujin would bicker across the dorm; the noise, the clutter, the feeling of never really being alone. He just misses them.
But there was never really another option. When Zerobaseone finally disbanded in 2030, his company – Studio GL1DE, together with THE L1VE – decided he would re-debut alone. On 20 July 2031, he stood on stage as a soloist for the first time, with his album Nine Hearts of different youth.
He’d taken advice from seniors who’d walked this path before him – Lee Chaeyeon, Daniel, Park Jihoon– learned how to fill a stage by himself, how to talk to cameras without anyone beside him. Even so, no amount of guidance changed the simple truth: he still missed his members.
But, even with the guidance, the title, “Sung Hanbin” with no introduction like “Sung Hanbin from Zerobaseone,” stung his heart a lot, yet he still was kind Hanbin, respected, and loved.
Hanbin is the salon chair again. There’s a feeling of familiarity as he feels hairspray at the back of his throat, the tug of fingers in his hair as a stylist works through the strands, the cool sweep of a makeup brush tracing along his cheekbone.
Behind him, a music show plays from a rookie group from one of the big agencies performing their debut song under studio lights.
Around him, the staff talks about many things, from year-end shows to the lineup of MBC Gayo Daejeon.
That is when one stylist casually goes, “Oh, Hanbin-ssi, you're in the lineup for MBC Gayo Daejeon this year, right?”
He hums a yes to the stylist who has red hair and is wearing glasses. Hanbin’s phone on the tray starts buzzing nonstop. He thinks it’s his mentions, news alerts, and Kakao charts.
A makeup artist laughs: “You’re trending again, Hanbin-ssi.”
Hanbin, trying to keep his expression relaxed, checks his phone: He sees notifications from Twitter(X):
Kpop Charts @kchartsmaster
MBC Gayo Daejon full lineup announced:
AND2BLE
izna
Sung Hanbin
illit
NMIXX
MEOVV
Hearts2Hearts
Kiikiii
UNIS
BOYNEXTDOOR
CORTIS
IDID
TWS
ifeye
📌 December 31
3.7k reposts - 19k likes - 1.3k bookmarks
He also glances at various hashtags like #SUNGHANBIN, #NDOUBLE, and of course, #HAOBIN.
He scrolls briefly with Fan accounts screaming about MBC Gayo.
🐬 @haobinmemories
[photo of Haobin during zb1 + lineup of MBC Gayo Daejon]
1.2k reposts - 4.7k likes - 1k bookmarks
🍀@haobinsplanet
Hanbin and NDOUBLE are sharing the same stage. This means Haobin!!
900 reposts - 2.8k likes - 920 bookmarks
For a second, Hanbin thinks it’s just imagination, some cruel trick his brain is playing on him when he gets tired. But the text is still there: MBC Gayo Daejeon lineup, his name circled, and NDOUBLE’s logo right after his name.
His palms go a little sweaty. The stylist tells him not to move; he forces himself to relax his fingers. Then he realizes that he feels both Hope and Fear in his chest, which is impossible to categorize. Hope, because a part of him has been waiting for something like this without admitting it, and Fear because he knows how much it will hurt if nothing changes at all.
I’ve spent years pretending like our history is over, and there’s nothing left between us, he thinks, and now, one schedule changes all of that for everyone.
He drops his gaze back to his lap before anyone catches him. The music shown on the TV keeps rolling in silence.
The door to the styling room opens with a soft knock. “Hanbin-ah”, his manager says, stepping inside with a clipboard under one arm. “Got the details for Gayo Daejeon.”
He comes to stand beside the chair, next to him, flipping through the pages.
They’ve given you a really good slot,” the manager continues. “Special stage in the second half, right before the big collab. Two full verses, bridge, live band if we want it. Rehearsal and camera test the day before, tech run in the morning.
He taps the paper with his pen, grinning in that half-apologetic way. "Former Zerobaseone Member turned Soloist, Ex-teammate now main vocalist of a huge group. People love this stuff."
Hanbin huffs a little that might pass as a laugh. “Yeah,” he says, smiling over his face like its muscule memory, “Yea they do.”
Its not good, this cannot be happening, Hao-hyung and I were exes. This is real.
His manager moves on, talking about rehearsal slots and outfits, but Hanbin only half-hears him. His phone is still buzzing quietly on the tray next to the hair products, screen lighting up every few seconds.
By the time the stylist steps back to check his hair from all angles, the notifications have turned into a wall.
He sneaks a glance. His group chat with Matthew, Taerae, and Gunwook sits at the top.
HANBIN HYUNG STOP YEARNING FOR HAO HYUNG
4 members.
Seokmae:
DUDE
MBC..omg they dropped the Gayo Daejeon lineup….
Gunwookie:
I’m telling u.. everyone will cry on national TV
Cheonan’s 2nd best(ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ)
fighting, hyung!
Gunwookie:
Hyung ..are u ok?
There’s a part of him that wants to type no to Gunwook’s question and another that wants to throw the phone face-down and pretend he hasn’t seen any of it.
Hanbin:
its just a show ㅋㅋㅋ
He adds nothing else. He doesn’t touch any messages that mention Hao’s name, nor does he type it. His finger hover the keyboard for a second, then he locked the screen and let his phone go dark.
“Don’t wrinkle your forehead,” the makeup artist scolds gently. “You’ll mess up the base.”
Later, in the van, Hanbin opens his phone as his manager is on a call in the front seat and the driver has the radio low. The full MBC Gayo Daejeon document loads slowly, a little blue bar inching across the top of his screen. When it appears, his eyes go straight down the list until they land on the lines he already knows are coming.
Special Stage - Sung Hanbin and Zhang Hao
Group Stage - AND2BLE
His thumb scrolls a little further down, just enough to catch the letters of Hao’s name in the detailed lineup. He hates seeing Hao’s name, as whenever he does, he reminisces about their relationship and what it could have been without the time ticking off their heads.
The sting in his chest doesn’t care that he didn’t read it properly. Knowing it’s there is enough. He exits the document, locks his phone, and lets it fall to his thigh. Tilts his head back against the seat and stares at the van ceiling. “We’re adults,” he tells himself silently, like a mantra. “We can handle being in the same building.”
…right?