beginning of bp: as we know, bp starts filming in december 2022. not everyone believes in love at first sight but i do believe there was an instant infatuation and draw to each other from the start. naturally this was based on physical attraction but i also think hanbin immediately endeared himself to hao through showcasing his waacking + tutting (just look at hao’s reaction during hanbin’s battle with lip j lol he was living). it’s for this reason that i think bin immediately sticks out in hao’s mind, which is confirmed in their post-finale live when he says “i’m not good at remembering names, i only remembered sung hanbin’s name after the star level test” link. this goes both ways - we now know from hanbin’s bbl live that he was also impressed with hao’s violin skills (“he was so cool. when hao-hyung played violin i was like woah…is this an audition program or an orchestra?”) link. so already during the auditions i think they’ve singled each other out and want to get to know each other. after the star level test mnet holds the votes for the “shiny boys”/visuals where it’s confirmed that haobin choose each other as respective K-group and G-group visuals (see previous link). at 1:13 of the shiny boys behind video hanbin talks about people in G-group coming up to him and telling him that they voted for him - something which we know hao did from hanbin’s live: “back then, you know how k-group and g-group came out one by one. hao-hyung and i came out after voting and the two of us were at the front being awkward and shy…then all of a sudden, hao-hyung said ‘i voted you for visual’. i was so shocked…’i picked zhang hao-nim’. we said that to each other. so from then on we got close, and during filming for the signal song we got closer.” link. the fact this is in all likelihood their first conversation with each other and hanbin also mentions how shy they were around each other and how this was the start of a Beautiful Friendship…but it gets worse. ONTO THE SIGNAL SONG. (quick interlude to mention hao being gagged at hanbin’s signal song audition because bro literally leapt out of his seat like it’s never that serious.) they first rode together in a bus/van for filming which is where the infamous dolphin story comes from (see 29:30 of tingle interview where hanbin takes the initiative to ask hao how to say dolphin in chinese. in the centerz car ride together for the signal filming hanbin takes their first selfie…and man idk what i can say here that i haven’t already said before so i’ll just repeat myself and state that i honestly do think they felt an instant spark when they properly talked with each other for the first time. there’s been a lot of discussion surrounding what Exactly that talk in the car entailed but i think it’s safe to say that there was an immediate kinship with each other after they discovered their similarities (which hanbin confirms in the tomboy behind). and i can’t forget hao’s twitter post after his covid quarantine (more on that later) - i think hao is actually quite a sentimental person and even at this point when they comparatively don’t know each other that well, they believe they do intrinsically Know each other and this is probably the point where hao starts to realise that his dream is to debut with bin by his side. also remember the first here i am stage filming where they were still awkward with each other but hao rubbed his head on bin’s shoulder? he was on a mission to get his man lmfao

post-here i am, pre-tomboy: we now know that before bp filming started in earnest with all the mission rounds, haobin (not confirmed but most likely) went on a lush date in winter. this is notable because the previous consensus was that haobin didn’t grow close until tomboy era (late feb/march) but the fact they’re already hanging out 1-on-1 here is a knock against that theory. (it’s also notable because it’s a stereotype that korean gay men apparently like lush but that’s neither here nor there…) we also recently have hao’s japanese fancafe post with a new haobin selfie from when they visited the fan billboards together - most likely feb 24. i do personally believe the lush date and feb 24 weren’t the same day because the lush date just seems a little earlier to me than that, but there is allegedly a lush close by in that selfie so make of that what you will lol. on feb 15 hanbin’s mother says that hanbin is close to a chinese trainee and confirms it’s hao. other trainees such as chen yugeng and xuan hao, who were both eliminated in the first round, also mention that haobin are very close, they have a good relationship, and they (yugeng and xuan hao) are jealous of their bond - so: they’ve gone shopping together as just the 2 of them, visited fan billboards together and taken a selfie there, hanbin felt that he was growing close enough to hao to mention him to his mother, and already haobin must’ve been very close for other trainees to pick up on it at this point in time. (also interesting note from chen yugeng’s live, he says that there wasn’t much interaction between the k-group and g-group in the dorms because they were on different floors.)

some other stuff around this time i’ll quickly mention: hanbin buys a chinese book to better communicate with hao(?!), flirting via tutting and sending flying kisses to each other, the first haobin chat on cam with the infamous “hyung we have so much in common” (3:11 here and kuanjui being a wingman. (also how “we have a lot in common” is a wink-wink nudge-nudge phrase for korean gay men to ‘test’ that the man they’re speaking to is also gay but i can’t find the source for this now so grain of salt.) also also notice how in the next scene matthew + kuanjui are still in the room while haobin are both gone. in terms of performances i don't remember anything notable except hanbin saying in the tingle interview that he watched hao's kill this love fancam 10k+ times(?!).

my personal thoughts are that, rather than speed-dating as some believe, they had a friendship based on mutual attraction and affection - the kind of friendship where lines are a little blurred and you engage in half-joking, half-serious flirting. a lot of sidelong pining glances and shy smiles, that kind of thing. i don’t think their relationship developed more seriously until…

tomboy era: THE ERA THAT BIRTHED A NATION. i won’t get into all the details because i’m sure at this point we’re all familiar with them but there’s no doubt this is where their flirting loses its joking dimension and grows more sincere. kinda a…testing of boundaries? like “how far can i take this with you before we actually do something about it”. first of all, hanbin confirms multiple times (1, 2) that he joined the tomboy team because he wanted to be on the same team as hao. an underrated moment for me is the look hao gives him here - to me it’s always read as a smug “lol i see right through you” kind of expression but that’s just me! their interactions during tomboy still have a sweet freshness(?) to them like they’re greatly enjoying playing around and teasing each other - as they still do - but imo their interactions here really remind me of that early period of crushing on someone when you’re absolutely infatuated with them e.g the practice behind cam, the tietie teasing (1:17) (also haojui teaching bin chinese later on in the vid <3). there’s also some small moments in the dual battle behind reaction cam (holding hands the whole time, hao indulgently patting bin’s neck, bin staring at hui holding hao’s hand) and it’s possible they’re already sharing clothes by this point, as it looks like hao is wearing bin’s jacket here - for the white day promo no less! also the violin drawing and Z letters on hanbin’s tomboy polaroid are so crazy i’m surprised i’m even adding it here but well. there’s some other small moments too, most notably in the second elimination round when hao says he wants to debut with hanbin and they can drink zero cola together everyday (history was made on that day) + this moment of bin flinching when hao leans in. ofc i haven’t forgotten about the most important moment in this era…

laundry room - relationship shift #1: this is the first of their 4 relationship shifts (at time of writing). i’m cataloguing a relationship shift as something where i think their relationship/interactions significantly changed after an event and this fits the bill perfectly. the backstory is that hanbin has a bp-induced breakdown and goes to cry in the laundry room by himself, on account of it being one of the few places in the building with no cameras. naturally this means we don’t know exactly what went down here (thankfully) but what we DO know is that this was a turning point for them. the only thing we see before it cuts away is hao determinedly heading to the laundry room, which to me means another trainee knew that they were close enough that sending hao to comfort bin would be the best option (or maybe this trainee knocked on the door and bin specifically asked for hao to come see him? but this doesn’t seem like something hanbin would do). to bin, however hao comforted him there affirms that hao is his soulmate, as he says at 24:00 of the tingle interview. he also says he 100% opened up his mind to someone for the first time and that hao comforted him by saying “you look cute when you cry, your face looks like clay” (okay…). ik i have always said that i don't believe they kissed in the laundry room for various reasons (timing, a step too far in the middle of a competition, too risky) BUT ngl the recent revelations about how Much they actually hung out with each other pre-tomboy has me questioning that theory…but i still maintain that if they did kiss in the laundry room then idt they kissed again or took things further until the finale neck kiss. honestly i can see them sharing a kiss in the laundry room and being like "okay there's definitely a spark here but let's agree not to take things further until we're free from this environment". and going back to my previous theory of them not kissing then if this is the case i believe there was an unspoken agreement regardless (or maybe spoken? who knows) that they can tell they have something special but want to save any actual romantic overtures until bp is over. after the laundry room hanbin thanks hao for comforting him + hao jokes that if hanbin is thankful then he should give hao a massage to show his gratitude…which he does. this is an intimate scene with hanbin confessing that as soon as hao turned up in the laundry room he started crying because “hyung is my crying button” and they thank each other again (with hao still joking around with hanbin to try and cheer him up, remember that for later). like i said, it’s a turning point in their relationship and hanbin being so vulnerable with hao (who is supposed to be his rival at this point, mind you) could’ve been a risky move but it says how much he trusts hao that he was willing to be so open with him. i mean, hanbin practically said it for me - this is really the moment where hanbin falls head over heels for him.

over me/say my name era: okay there’s so much more here than i remember RIP so once again i’ll just do a little speed run…(also thanks to that anon for already putting all of this together, i’m basically stealing your work here.) the clothes-sharing continues with hanbin visiting his ads and mentioning that the other trainees keep stealing his clothes + he also gives a special shout-out to hao for doing just that (though i can’t find a source for this specific tidbit). at the bp press conference hanbin says “It's difficult to pick a rival because there are many friends from 'Boys Planet' who are full of charm and skills, but if I had to pick one, Zhang Hao hyung would be a threatening rival. The reason is that the immersion and charisma shown on stage are amazing. I want to be like him.” some hanbin stans also visit hanbin’s mom’s cafe with fan letters and gifts for hanbin - one of them is a haobin mug which hanbin’s mom points out and she refers to hao as “haohao”. hanbin also wears hao’s emoji clip to uni and while he teaches hao tutting. which neatly brings me onto my next point that hanbin helped hao (and kuanjui) choreograph the tutting breakdown in over me, despite being the leader for say my name and mentioning that he spent over 10 hours a day practising for say my name. maybe this is just me being corny because i do think bin also would’ve helped any of his other friends (e.g matthew) with their performance if they were in a different team to him and required the help, but to me this speaks to their dream to debut together and i actually think this side of their relationship is very beautiful and fulfilling because it seems like they always want to push the other to do his best and maximise his potential on the stage - like see how proud hanbin is of him here 1, 2. also an interesting point about the tutting is that although we know hanbin helped with the tutting we don’t actually see the clip of it until hao makes a point of bringing it up in the eliminations so that the producers are kinda forced into showing it. I think haobin were both expecting it to air in the actual episode (hence before the performances air hanbin tells a fan to wait for the episode which will confirm if he was the one who taught the tutting) but when it didn’t air they (or more specifically, hao) took matters into their own hands. idk if this is a controversial opinion or not lol but i do believe that haobin intentionally attempted to market themselves as a duo so people could switch votes between them and they would debut together - they’re both smart guys who are well-versed in kpop fandom and know that kpop fangirls love having a little ship + “tying” your image to another person, especially in survival shows where producers also love crafting that kind of storyline, can be hugely beneficial (though simultaneously risky). idt fanservice is quite the correct word for it because ofc their relationship is very genuine but i also think that they knew what they were doing lol. and ofc they were both already very popular as individuals at this point but when you’re in a survival show you can never really be truly Sure. anyway, back to the main event which is the en garde reaction cam where: hao switches seats with ricky so he can sit next to hanbin, them being in their own world and holding hands for most of the performance, and hao wearing hanbin’s name tag (in korea giving someone your name tag is your way of confessing to them). we later learn that hao is the one who asks for hanbin’s name tag as a joke but hanbin gives it to him. it also needs to be said that this is the only round where the full reaction cams were posted so they most likely had zero idea that their business here would be aired out like this. when the over me team is later announced as the winners hanbin hugs hao and doesn’t let him go even when others want to hug him too lmao.

overall i find it very sweet that despite being on 2 different teams they’re still finding a way to spend some time together and grow closer (e.g over me tutting, hao walking hanbin back to his room, doing their skincare together and hanging out together in the dorms plus hao telling hanbin to sleep well). we also have confirmation that this is when hao meets bin’s parents for the first time (at the parent/fanmeeting when they perform their songs) and it’s perhaps why she feels confident enough to call him “haohao”.

pre-finale: idk if anything happened right before they filmed the musical segment or if it was just the chemicals of lurve but whatever it was…yeah they’re adorable (special shout-out to hanbin’s middle-school flirting tactics of placing hao’s hand over his heart…). and also this gif <3 back to insanity with the matching polaroids of “only look at me, zhang hao!” / “i’ll only look at you :)” like...then the pajama party live with hanbin getting caught out with hao’s aegyo (and in the same live there’s a fan question asking hao who he’s close to other than the yuehuaz and hanbin). there’s also a boys planet fanmeet at this time with all the trainees who are still in the competition where the sweat-wiping commences hey let’s give some cheers for that (here). also just for fun: hao watching hanbin perform hot summer.

finale: WHERE TO START…i go back and forth with whether they discussed their relationship pre-finale but i honestly think they did, even if it was just a promise to talk about it in-depth after the stress of the competition is out of the way. but their goal basically since meeting each other has always been to debut together and i’m sure they’re both very aware of this which is why we get all the raw intimacy that comes later. a lot of fan reports from the live audience claim that haobin were basically stuck together the whole time. firstly we have the haobin VCR which i’m really only mentioning here because bin recently revealed that when hao was teaching him violin here, hanbin stuck a ditto sticker on his violin case which is still there to this day (here). another moment of sweat-wiping here. cute here i am bridge moment with kuanjui + friends reaction here and here (we miss you haojuibin :( ). hanbin pointing out hao to his parents twice 1 (the laugh…what’s so funny), 2 with hanbin looking adorably proud. whatever this moment after not alone was 1, 2 (now that i’m rewatching it it looks more like some kind of inside joke LOL but they’re cute <3). AND OFC….LET’S ALL JUST KILL OURSELVES: like look how relieved hanbin is when he learns they’re debuting together 1 2, i could honestly talk about this for hours because at this point there’s no way that hanbin didn’t know he was debuting so a lot of that emotion is tied into them debuting TOGETHER…it honestly must have been a weight off their shoulders and a culmination of how hard they’ve worked which is why bin immediately breaks down into tears and hao comforts him with the infamous neck kiss 2 3. i’ll talk about this more in a moment but back to the rest of the finale, just watch this video they are so sweet my babies…also how bin starts crying when he sees hao crying :(( also also bonus of hao being a fujo-lover since day one

neck kiss - relationship shift #2: i honestly feel like up until this point, this is The defining moment of their relationship - all the stress + blood sweat and tears was worth it. if i wasn’t on the haobin train before i sure was after this because it’s almost startlingly intimate, the way that hanbin’s face completely crumples as he grabs onto hao’s sleeve…yeah. wrt the neck kiss itself (and yes it was a kiss) on one hand it's obvious that emotions were running high and i can see hao losing himself in the moment and comforting hanbin how he wants to and forgetting that everyone was around them butttt on the other hand this is also mr "i always think before i say/do something" zhang - coupled with the theory that he was checking the screen to see if the kiss would be visible but that's a bit too tinhatty for a timeline so i'll just leave it there LOL, i’ll leave it up to you to decide. i find it so fascinating to watch how hanbin is so on edge and nervous for the entire finale before his and hao’s names are called as the candidates for the top 2 and you can just see the relief take hold in him and he doesn’t stop smiling from that moment on. both of them look simultaneously happy and shell-shocked to be debuting in the group and it must’ve been a whirlwind of emotion for them…especially as they both must’ve considered the possibility that here i am and not alone would be their last stages together. it does also make me wonder what hao said to him when they embraced (i do think he said “don’t cry” like he said he did to that fan but something else too considering hanbin’s “oh!” reaction when they pull apart) but it almost feels wrong to speculate on it as i think that was a very private moment between them fkjksdf, one thing’s for sure though and that’s that this marks a turning point for them

pre-debut: it would be impossible for me to document literally every single haobin moment here so i will leave that in someone else’s capable hands and just talk about the most notable ones, which is really only scratching the surface but should be enough regardless. firstly we have the bp commentary live a week after the finale, where hanbin says that he felt his connection with hao the first time they spoke because it felt like talking to a mirror (also the same live where matthew says “i’m a bit jealous [of haobin] but now i have jiwoong-hyung” lmfao). speaking of matthew i have the opportunity to post the funniest fucking video ever (the silence after he says it dskjfksdkfdsdsd goodbye). some people thought there was a bit of a weird vibe between haobin in that live which i personally don’t agree with but it does allow me to conveniently segue into 2 points i want to touch on: 1) the Fight and 2) speculation on fighting/arguing in general. 1) we know from tingle interview that some time after the group was formed, haobin had their first real argument. we’re (rightfully) not privy to the details but we do know that hao says he “saw a weakness in his personality” and they “got to know each other better” and he “feels like i’m becoming a better zhang hao so i wanted to say thank you”. it’s for this reason that i think haobinists do way too much with speculation about the fight lol - maybe it was about their relationship, maybe it was something completely separate, but either way i really don’t think that it was some kind of dramatic mess that some people have built it up to be. i honestly doubt it was anything too serious and they probably worked it out quickly (after cooling off if necessary) and that was that - if anything, hao’s words imply they actually grew closer. and it’s not like he’s gonna go on tingle like “actually hanbin i still resent you after that fight we had -_-” but i do think he’s being sincere here. i also find it very interesting that the question is “words you want to say to each other?” and hanbin answers first and says that when he’s with hao he feels unbeatable and like he can face any challenges with hao by his side, and then hao’s mind goes to the fight…almost like their first argument was actually what made hao realise the same i.e they can always work out things together. 2) wrt speculation about them arguing in general, i have said in the past that i expect them to argue (like everyone does with their loved ones) but i find speculation about it ultimately pointless as it could be for any number of reasons (stress, exhaustion, work-related problems) and it’s not healthy for fans to expect them to be hanging off each other 24/7 (“omg hanbin didn’t smile at hao here he must hate him!!111!!”). like even if they are in the midst of an argument, so what…? at the end of the day i trust them to be communicative and healthy, which we even get a glimpse of when one of them (i forgot which) says in a fansign in debut era that they’ve been both on edge lately and close to snapping at each other so they take a step back from the convo - which is the mature thing to do. anyway back to the yaoi:

i believe kcon japan is the next notable moment with sweat-wiping again, cute here i am bridge, singing not alone in the hotel room while holding hands and looking at each other 1 2, the MC behind, and the airport arrival. overall they seem very lovey-dovey with each other and this continues with the first look behind and interview, where hanbin calls hao the other half of his soul. for posterity: “many people say hao-hyung and i had a ‘friendly competition’, he does really well and he’s a hard-working person. i sincerely acknowledge him and like him, so i wanted to congratulate him sincerely. hao-hyung is a person i can call my ‘other half’. you could say it’s only been a short while, but we’ve really become close-knit. there’s never been a person in my life who matches so well with me, and who makes me think that there’s so much to learn from when we’re together. ah, we went to a restaurant a while ago and someone even asked, “are you two twins?” in the future too, i want us to be positive influences on each other and keep improving together.” like…insanity. the fact that the question was about how he felt to win 2nd place and instead he waxes poetic about how much hao means to him, famously extroverted hanbin who knows many many people saying he’s never met anyone that matches him as well as hao does, the confirmation that the 2 of them went to a restaurant together after the finale (or perhaps before). and ofc in the first look behind he reiterates this with “my other half after everything we’ve gone through, zhang hao”. also from the first look behind is this video where all they’re doing is feeding each other but i still feel like i’m invading, get a room…ALSO from first look behind is haobin plucking each other’s cake toppers out of the cake and putting the other’s topper on their head 1 2 (this one isn’t clear at all but let’s tinhat girlies) because yeah sure at this point why not!

moving onto june now, we have the filming for camp zb1 2 and a lot of very cute moments in jeju 1 2 3 4 5 and various other sasaeng pics (e.g hao resting his legs in hanbin’s lap), plus our first true glimpse of hao separation anxiety. jeju/camp zb1 also brings us the messages to each other which i actually think is severely underrated IDK it deserved better in the haobin poll 1 2 (feat. matthew saying in his own message to hao “he has a good relationship with hanbin-hyung. he likes food.” okay true king!) like the dandelion seed lore (the tattoo…iykyk), “two of our hearts are continuously growing closer so i’m happy”, hao outright saying he wanted to spend more time with hanbin in jeju (plus hanbin later saying in a fansign he wants to take hao to jeju with him). i also do think they are already dating by this point and if they’re not then bin is just a little crazy in love, as evidenced by his birthday live very shortly after the jeju trip where once again he calls hao the other half of his soul and also confirms that he drops honorifics with him off-cam. hao also buys a sticker pack for his present to hanbin and sticks these ones onto his gift. and ofc his birthday message to hanbin which includes “i will give you lots of love and attention” wow…who just shed a tear. like bin is his baby fr!! to top off june, the filming of the tingle interview also takes place here - which is frankly one big Haobin Moment and it would take me too long to discuss everything they talk about so i’ll just link the video and give a special shout-out to jang jang which is definitely one of the craziest things they’ve ever admitted to (hanbin calling himself jang jang because zhang hao is his only friend on wechat…passes away). also bonus of a fan asking ricky which one he uses more out of KKT or wechat to talk to hao and he just looks confused and says he uses neither because they’re together all the time anyway…well! also one final cute moment for june <3

debut era: they’re obviously very busy and stressed around this time but i don’t think there are any huge problems with their relationship - quite the contrary, actually. let’s start with the debut showcase on july 1st, which is personally a very interesting schedule to me because it’s the first instance where no cameras/filming are allowed within the venue and we get haobin being very Haobin with each other in a way which we frankly don’t get nowadays with other official content. due to the no-cameras rule all of this is just fan reports which have no way of being verified but apparently they were very touchy with each other and glued to the hip the whole time (e.g bin slapping hao’s ass, holding his waist while they went down the stairs, stroking his back, tapping hao to check if he was sweating, drawing confetti out of hao’s hair). hanbin also says that him and hao are fate/destiny and during this numbers song hao apparently sings the lyrics “i love you / don’t look at other people and just look at me / i like you / show me your smile towards me everyday” while looking at hanbin. i’m sure there was other stuff as well but it has all been lost to time now RIP…i believe around this time is also when they start wearing matching clothes from c-haobinists in earnest (i’m not gonna document all of the times they’ve ever worn something from a zerocola because there are frankly too many instances but it’s cute!). also some cute selfies finally 1 2. i’ll get back to the debut era moments after this next point…

hao’s birthday - relationship shift #3: if they weren’t already dating then they definitely are after hao’s birthday. i think we’re all in agreement that something definitely changed after this point like…rent was due, 200 won in the bank, hanbin was facing unrequited love allegations, he had one chance and one chance only. from this point on hao is literally obsessed with hanbin and dgaf about who knows it LOL. what we know is that the night before his birthday, hao is tired and plans to fall asleep at 11:30pm but hanbin asks him to stay awake until 12am so he can be the first one to wish hao happy birthday and give him his gift. and the gift in question is a blue dolphin/planet necklace which hanbin later confirms in a fansign is from him. history was made fr…and here’s bin possibly pointing out the necklace to hao after squeezing his waist. for the record this is them the day after hao’s bday. hanbin’s message to hao for his bday is also very sweet - “when i first became leader i was confused but thank you genuinely for helping me :) just being by my side silently gives me strength!! ❤️ please know that~”. this is actually one of my fave moments from them especially as the other members’ messages/gifts to hao mention trying to bring out his extrovert side while hanbin is perfectly content to receive hao’s silent support but that’s just me cornplating…as a sidenote, i’d also like to mention how matthew gifts hao a polaroid camera and says “if hao-hyung has this camera he can record a lot of memories!” - which means that the camera here (this is from camp zb1 which was filmed back in june) belongs to hanbin and has hao’s tomboy sticker on it. that’s all. also on the day of hao’s birthday, hanbin is the one to come up with the ending fairy for hao.

i personally think they were already dating by this point so imo the necklace was accompanied with something else…maybe their first “i love you” or hanbin having a sentimental speech/letter prepared or putting an official label on their relationship. but whatever it is, hao starts throwing all fucks out of the window and it gets worse later…

debut era: another very sweet moment where hao is asked which member he wants to take care of the most and he says hanbin as he bottles up his thoughts, while hanbin says hao already helps him a lot and seems to get emotional. we also get a lot of cute haobin moments from the round of fansigns they have e.g praising each other and again, hanbin saying his bias would be hao, praising each other’s skills, hao saying he wants to perform a duet with hanbin, hao ticking yes to all of these lmao (with the staff crossing out the “take hanbin to fujian” option but hao still ticking it). there’s also this iconic moment where hanbin looks Shocked and Distressed at the fact that he guesses hao’s perfume wrong (as hao’s preferences change with the season…). they have another schedule where there’s no cameras/filming and haobin are reportedly once again very touchy and in a playful mood (but no way of verifying obviously). at a radio schedule where hanbin answers a question about what’s something trivial that haobin quarrelled about recently, he says that hao nags him for not being able to take pics well. first of all what do the members find so funny LOL, second of all hao then says that hanbin is so bad at taking pics of him he has yet to post any which we now know isn’t true because hanbin confirms he took this pic of hao posing by the car, third of all hanbin says that hao takes really good pics of him but taerae has recently said hao is bad at taking pics of anyone other than himself so what is the truth…(hanbin boyfriend privilege?). moving onto august, we get a lot of cute moments like hanbin giving hao a piggyback, hao’s answer to a TMI being that he bought hanbin perfume, ricky third-wheeling during baby cloud + hao saying that hanbin’s mom treats him like a baby, teasing during the here i am bridge at the fancon soundcheck and generally having fun together. plus the sudden cut to hao wearing hanbin’s adidas jacket during fancon rehearsal lmao + teasing each other again during the bridge rehearsal. from the fansign after hao is diagnosed with covid (more on that later), we get: hanbin saying he wants to dance to naughty with hao, confirming he and hao have a lot of pictures together but he can’t upload them, saying you can see love in someone’s eyes when your eyes meet and their eyes shine (flashback), saying that when he’s sad he used to prefer someone who cries with him but now he prefers someone who will make him laugh (“you look cute when you cry…your face looks like clay,” “wae? shiro?”). this is the second time where he said his opinion has changed recently, the first one being where he said the colour of love is respecting each other’s colours instead of merging and becoming the same colour (“we have a lot of similarities but more differences”, “since becoming a group i realised we have more differences”). during the few days where hao is in covid quarantine, hanbin also wears a ring given by a zerocola as part of a matching set for him and hao. before all of this, i want to take a step back to when zb1 were in LA for kcon where we get the one and only qixi necklace. bear in mind that at this point we still didn’t have total confirmation that hanbin is the one who gifted hao the blue necklace and that was just an assumption. so in this video on qixi, the chinese valentine’s day, hao is displaying that blue necklace over his hoodie. well maybe it’s totally unintentional and that’s just the necklace he happened to be wearing…except that on the flight to LA, he was wearing the sponsored gucci necklace which means that he packed the necklace that hanbin gifted to him on his birthday just so he could wear it in LA….sure. also this isn’t related to qixi but on top of this, fans have recently noticed that the small gem off the necklace has fallen off - possibly because he’s been wearing it so much. moving onto the end of august, as mentioned before hao is diagnosed with covid and has to quarantine alone. when he gets out of quarantine his first post is this one. i could honestly write an entire essay about just this post but i’ll try and tl;dr it because this is already long as it is…what’s immediately striking to me is how hao likely felt very lonely and sentimental during quarantine so he takes a trip down memory lane and decides that the day of the here i am MV filming is the day that stands out most in his mind. ofc a lot of that is due to how it really was a culmination of everything that he’s worked so hard for as a trainee and his first real “experience” on boys planet, but he also includes the first haobin selfie ever taken where they had their first actual discussion in the car and immediately hit it off + a video of the 2 of them facing each other and dancing to keep warm + (more tinhatty but) bin possibly secretly taking that pic of hao taking a pic of the snow because he’d never seen it before. and ofc part of the caption: “I'm always grateful for those who have been by my side throughout this journey🥰🥰 Of course, including ZEROSEs who are loving me today too. ❤️❤️” - so this gratitude isn’t entirely directed towards his fans and considering that 2 (if not 3) of the attachments to this caption include hanbin…well! also bonus of hanbin saying that he likes the idea of confessing on the day of the first snow. like this whole post is just so sweet to me especially as the quarantine was likely the longest time they’ve spent without each other since bp filming resumed in winter…and obviously it wasn’t one-sided on hao’s part, i’ve already mentioned how during quarantine hanbin was wearing the ring gifted by a zerocola (then didn’t wear it again as soon as hao was out lmao) but they also video-called during quarantine and hanbin said in a fansign during hao’s quarantine that if someone close to him was sick he would stay by their side and give them kisses + some cute moments with hanbin singing always to himself at a fansign and posing with the red panda plushie that represents hao.

september: they get even crazier this month so um congrats to the happy couple. it was also a pretty busy month for both of them so let’s start off with a cute moment of hanbin saying that hao would help him with monitoring his invu stage and hao spoiling it in his live with yujin. there’s also something funny where an allin (hanbin-biased fan) sends hanbin (and him alone!) a gift of pink sweatpants but hao shows up wearing them instead, because he is an infamous clothes-stealer at this point. later on hao goes back to fujian by himself for an exam (and also catches up with his parents, goes to an amusement park etc) and does the most batshit insane thing ever + and fully decks himself out in a haobin/zerocola fit wherein everything he’s wearing has some kind of attachment to hanbin*. like...my guy you were in fujian for a DAY. something something they always need reminders of the other whenever they’re apart from each other…complete with hanbin also using his corresponding matching moon phone case that the zerocola gifted them. after hao comes back from fujian we get a round of fancalls on september 17th which was an iconic day: hao saying he took pics/vids of fujian to show to hanbin, pointing out a fan’s haobin wall and giving a thumbs up, “zero cola thank you”, holding up each other’s polaroids, singing the same chinese song, they love their fujos, they love their fujos again, cheek heart, zero cola tietie, hanbin pointing out the haobin photos behind a zerocola, unverified repo of hao saying that hanbin sometimes comes to comfort him at night, and using the same perfume. and if that wasn’t enough, hanbin also posts a pic of him and hao on twitter where the pic with hao is noticeably out-of-place with the other 3 pics and it was also taken on 5/20, another chinese valentine’s day, and posted on confession day in korea (which taerae helpfully reminds us of). september also brings us chuseok, where hao posts about hearing hanbin’s OST luv luv luv in a cafe and hanbin also makes a reference to hao on his bbl (jjangurri is hao’s nickname and “will there be…lots of…?” is referencing when hao said “will there be good dancers, lots of good dancers?” on boys planet). cute bonus moment of them also eating breakfast together in london. what can i say here except that they’re in love…

october: we start off with hanbin guesting on a dating show panel, where he reveals that he likes to flirt via teasing - something we’ve seen that he likes to do with hao (e.g tingle interview, first look behind, his bday live). also a bonus moment of him saying “love often sparks in the practice room”. afterwards he does a bbl live where he says hao’s name 17 times (link to translation) and sings always with hao + matthew going live the same day and hao saying “oh he must’ve missed me”. hanbin is a big fan of always, as we know... hanbin does another live a day later where he once again talks about hao a Lot (the stories i’ve previously mentioned about how they picked each other as visual at the start of bp, the ditto sticker on hao’s violin case, hanbin buying a chinese book so he can converse with hao, and he asks hao for fashion advice). and we get this very very cute and domestic laundry convo when hao pops into hanbin’s room (reminder). they sound so happy in that live even just talking about something as menial as laundry…let’s all die.

paris - relationship shift #4: ENGAGEMENT SEX!! no i'm just kidding (or am i?). let’s take a look first - they have lunch together in their hotel room with hao always making sure to show hanbin when they’re eating together ofc (feat. hanbin also informing us here). then we get this very very very cute selfie of them posted on bbl from where they’re hanging out together in the hotel room (i.e cuddling on the bed)...look at hao’s face bro that man is WHIPPED. hao also goes live on bbl from the hotel room with hanbin chilling in the background and hao mostly talking to him, which officially marks their first live together (in a way…). then the next day they perform at mcountdown france and are just in a very lovey-dovey mood, with bin teasing hao during the bridge (winking or touching his chin or both) and hao getting shy and ducking his head to hide his smile/laugh. they’re also spotted hanging out together backstage where they take this pic and dance to dreamcatcher together backstage (from a non-fan who said that they were vibing backstage the whole time). at the end of the night hanbin spots haobin fans in the crowd and runs to hug hao - some more angles because they’re cute 1 2 3 4 5. whatever’s in the air in paris…idk but i’m a customer and i’m very happy.

early days to already be calling this a relationship shift? perhaps. it’s entirely possible that their paris shenanigans are simply how they always act off-cam and this is just the first time we’re actually seeing it for ourselves. but i also think it’s entirely possible that they had some kind of conversation about the future (relationship or career or both) and what they heard from each other made them feel extra reassured in their commitment to each other. or maybeeee they were just feeling extra sentimental - hanbin says on his bbl live that he felt a bit burdened with his thoughts in paris (perhaps as he was MCing mcountdown alone or just due to general stress) so naturally he seeks out hao and the 2 of them spend the day together with hao presumably comforting him (“i will give you lots of love and attention”, remember) or being around hao is enough to bring hanbin’s mood up. this is actually so sweet to me because it means hao is the one hanbin trusts to take care of him and listen to him when he’s feeling down hhh…i think it also ties into a general trend of the 2 of them winding down together after a long day/week and sharing how they’re feeling and what they’ve been up to. like no matter what they always come back to each other but that’s just me being corny so anyway! paris also gives us these cute pics where hanbin either holds onto hao’s green hoodie for him or is the one that lent hao his own hoodie because hao gets cold. and of course the B♡H ring with hao showing it off at the airport and then posting a pic of himself wearing the ring later. also from the airport, hao and gyuvin wear ditto masks and a reporter writes an article about them wearing “couple masks” at which point hanbin comes on bbl to say that he was also intending to wear the ditto mask but his broke LOL. the panda shirt hao’s wearing here and the knitwear are also separate gifts from zerocolas which means he packed 4 different gifts from zerocolas for him to take to paris (the t-shirt in the selfie is also from a zerocola) which is…yeah sure that’s very on-brand for hao at this point.

october: after his birthday hao has never really given any fucks wrt their relationship lol but after paris that seems to have doubled up (a feat which i thought was impossible so congrats). and this time hanbin has also joined him so double congrats! i can’t explain it but something truly shifted…like they seem so much more open with everything. we also get some more cute moments with their cameo in gunwook’s voice live, despite hao’s hatred of working late he still offers to shoot last with hanbin so they can keep each other company until the end (feat. hanbin also confirming they do their skincare together in the mornings), being cute together at the swf finale, and hao showing up in hanbin’s live and feeding him a grape after bragging that hanbin started the live later than intended because they were too busy talking to each other LMAO. like seeing their relationship progress is so beautiful to witness…

overall thoughts:

what can i say? even without all of this, they give off such vibes of a couple to the point that non-fans have shown up to a schedule such as the swf finale and practically posted “me looking at the two people that definitely have something going on lowkey”. regardless of what their relationship is they clearly make each other very very happy and i think they truly have something special. i honestly think they both fell hard and fast and things were pretty intense for a time (“the other half of my soul” after knowing someone for 6 months) before they started Officially dating. tbh they still seem like they’re in the honeymoon phase LOL but to me it looks like that previous intensity from bp era might be gone as they know what they have together and they’re reassured in the love they can find in each other…? like they truly are each other’s homes, safe places, crying/laughing buttons etc. and it’s so obvious to me how much they’ve both committed to take care of each other above all else. i also believe that they themselves know they’ve found a one-in-a-million bond and are determined to hold onto that forever.

an underrated moment for me which really speaks to the level of trust and comfort they have in each other is when hao outright says in the tingle interview that he trusts hanbin 100%. on the surface it doesn’t sound like much but to me hao strikes me as the kind of person that, as he’s matured, may not have been able to fully open himself up to someone and there would always be that small quality of reservedness within him. but with hanbin he is entirely Free and relies on him like he does with no one else, which is something that’s mirrored with hanbin when hanbin says that their moment in the laundry room is what led him to “open up my heart for the first time”.

i also want to point out when hanbin said that his love languages are showing love through actions and spending time together, which we know they do plenty of - we have confirmation that they watch variety shows together (from the jeju/finland fancall), do their skincare together, spend the most time together in the dorm, drink zero cola together after a long day, and eat plenty of meals together. which brings me onto my next point that another one of their love languages is food - both of them said in tingle that they find each other the cutest when they’re eating (with hao saying he has a whole folder of pics of hanbin eating because his cheeks bulge out lol), they like feeding each other (as seen in 1st look behind + confirmed in tingle when they say they feed each other greek yoghurt and meat a lot recently), and simply put they like unwinding together via sharing a meal either at the beginning or end of the day.

also this is just meant to be a timeline so i won’t get Too serious and talk about what wakeone must think of them or how they treat them especially as this is long enough, but i will say that i think the members are genuinely supportive of them (e.g matthew’s teasing that i’ve mentioned here, gyuvin and gunwook teasing hanbin about how he flirts while ricky tries to stop them from exposing him LMAO, taerae saying that he talked with hanbin about how the pink and blue colours on swf reminded him/them of haobin’s colours when those were just the colours meant to distinguish the korean/global trainees on bp, the members randomly giggling on that radio show when haobin are asked about what’s something they quarrelled about recently).

and to conclude - they love haobinists!! people liked to fall back on the argument that shippers are ruining their friendship when…where lmao? they make a point of singling out haobinists in the audience at concerts when it would be easy to just ignore them and give them a bland wave or whatever, but nope they’re always pleased to see haobin signs and banners. they also wear manyyyy zerocola gifts (hao especially) and most of these gifts are sent with letters or other merch where it’s obvious it’s being sent in a romantic context, so if they were truly uncomfortable with being shipped then why would they risk wearing all those zerocola gifts when they know it’s just going to fan the flames of shippers? and finally a couple of the fancalls on 17/09 where once again they could’ve ignored haobin merch/pics in the background but chose to point it out and give a thumbs-up as soon as they noticed it. like these are not the actions of two people seeing fans that are ruining their friendship~ lmao

fin.