Years passed by.

Soon after he had received the letter, the parcel with the diary and the paper crane arrived.

And the paper crane was the thing that gave Sehun the will to live on.

It waw slow changes.

First, he went back to university and graduated then he went to do his masters in Italy.

A few years after Grandma passed away leaving Sehun pretty much alone in the world.

He still had friends though who grew up with him through the years.

Sehun could not bring himself to live in the mansion for it felt too empty, so he moved to China for the first few years of his business.

His friends started to get married but, to Sehun, that thought didn't even cross his mind.

Sehun was used to tragedies but when, one cold winter morning, he got the news that his lifelong friend Kai had passed away in an accident leaving Kyungsoo and their adopted child behind, he lost all his faith in life.

Still, he decided to not give up.

He was used to the loneliness of life.

Whenever he would feel sad, he would make a paper crane and then read through Luhan's book, editing it but always postponing the thought of sending Luhan's manuscript to a publisher.

Luhan's story was worth to listen to.

But it was the boy's diary that was kept closed on his shelf unread. For some reason, he found it hard to read through those words that Luhan had written.

He was not sure when he would be able to read it.

 

It was only by the age of 45 that Sehun decided to send it and not surprisingly the book was a great success.

Yet every time the publishing company would ask him who Luhan was, he could not give them an answer.

They said they couldn't accept it at first and he was forced to tell them that Luhan was a great someone who had lived and loved but left the world too soon.

 

He finished making his 1000 paper cranes but he had no wish apart from being with Luhan in the next life.

By the age of 60, Sehun had a car accident which left him in a wheelchair.

That's when he decided to return back to the mansion and live in the moment while living in a place where it had all began.

In all his life, Sehun could not love anyone but Luhan.

 

At the age of 65, Sehun knew his time was coming to an end.

That's why on a starry night Sehun asked his care nurse to take him out on the beach after his friends left from visiting him.

He sat with his diary and stared at the stars for a while.

It always made him smile, the stars that shined the most.

 

Sehun slowly opened to the first page and started reading.

Time went fast and Sehun finished reading as memories of everything that had happened went through his head and made him cry after years.

Wiping his tears with a smile he took out the glass jar from underneath his wheelchair, which was filled with tiny little colourful paper cranes.

From his pocket, he took a lighter out and leaning out, he threw all the cranes on the sand and set them on fire.

He watched as his dreams and wishes of all his life became ashes and flew away in the cold breeze.

Then he flipped back on the first page and read through the bucket list that Luhan had made:

Die happily Love and be loved Write a book Make a friend Celebrate my birthday with friends Look at the stars with someone special Go to Namsan Tower Own a dog Spend the entire day with a friend Leave happy memories behind

 

Every single wish was crossed out apart from the last one.

Sehun looked at the brightest star and then smiled crossing out 'leave happy memories behind,' because yes, Luhan had hurt them with his choices but he had also left happy memories behind.

Closing the diary, Sehun let it fall on the flames with the burning paper cranes.

Sehun shut his eyes and smiled and fell asleep.

 

*********

"Sehun-ah," Luhan smiled as the boy woke up.

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