15 years later

It's really autumn now, Sehun thinks pensively as a couple orange leaves fall next to him. He reaches out a hand and brushes his fingers through a couple of the leaves. They're soft, delicate, with an ever so slight covering of fuzziness. I can't believe another year has passed. Where does the time go?

I'm still so young, but I feel so old...

He lets his hand drop with a sigh and continues down the busy sidewalk. As he nears his favorite bookstore, he sees a crowd gathered around the small shop and, a little while away, a long line of people, standing by themselves or in clumps. They're all clutching books - the same book, in fact.

Ah, Sehun realizes, there must be a booksign today. Curious, he decides to go check it out. He makes his way down the line, apologizing occasionally when he nudges somebody on accident and assuring them that he's not cutting, merely looking. Soon, he's at the front. He peers in through the big glass window where a table, along with a stack of books, sits in plain view. Behind the table sits a woman with long brown hair who is signing books and talking to her fans. Her back is to Sehun, but he presumes that this is the famous author. He isn't familiar with her, though something about her catches his attention. Is it the way she moves? Her hand gestures? He shakes his head, trying to clear it of foolish thoughts. Those times are far in the past.

Just as he's turning to leave, she turns around to grab a bottle of water, laughing, and Sehun catches a full view of her face. It's unmistakable. His breath catches gently, and he's overtaken by a set of distant golden memories: the two of them, looking at the stars. The two of them, at the beach. The two of them, bidding each other goodbye.

Goodbye, but not farewell.

It's been years, but there are some things Oh Sehun will never forget, and he finds now that he has to sit down. He glances at her, again, as if to confirm the reality of his perception, and then directs his attention to the sign outside the shop that contains information about the book sign.

Bestselling author Lee Haeri visits her hometown of Seoul for a day-long book sign, the sign reads. Don't miss this exciting opportunity to chat with Haeri about her acclaimed autobiographical book, in which she writes about her life growing up and the thought-provoking, deeply meaningful journey she experienced after high school to become the person she is now.

There is another block of text in smaller print underneath that.

Haeri is happily married with her husband and two children, all of whom bring her untold joy. She currently resides in Busan so that she can be close to the sea, which she cites as one of her greatest inspirations.

"Ah..." Sehun murmurs softly to himself with a wistful smile. He deliberates popping in briefly to say hello, but decides against it.

"It really is time to move on." Brushing himself off, he gets up, and, with one last, long look through the window, continues his walk down the street.

From inside the shop, Haeri lets out a wistful sigh of her own as she watches his back grow smaller and smaller. Unbeknownst to him, she had seen him the moment he emerged in front of the shop. The past whispers in her ear, and suddenly it's the summer after senior year and she's opening the front door on her eighteenth birthday to find her favorite flowers on the doorstep. The sender is conspicuously absent, but even Haeri's parents know who they're from.

She's never forgotten. How could she?

A 'thank you' from a fan brings her back to the present, and as she signs the next book, she can't help but reflect a bit.

It's sad, what we both had to let go. It was... truly something special while it lasted.

Just then, her phone buzzes, and she checks to see that it's a message from her husband.

She smiles.

Life is good, she muses as she leans back to look out at the street. The window has been opened, and she breathes in the wonderfully fresh air and exhales, heart beating loud and steady.

Life is good, Sehun muses as he strolls down the autumn street. The leaves are falling all around him now.

It really is.