33 DAYS → MEANIE

JANUARY 8

JANUARY 8-
8:30

Wonwoo found it weird to wake up at four in the morning. Mingyu was still asleep, and that was normal because who woke up at four in the morning? Wonwoo tried to go back to bed, but his mind was reeling. The rose from his dream really bothered him, and he was too scared to go back to sleep. He got up from bed and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face.

There was nothing but cold water in the morning. His cheeks turned a rosy shade of pink as he splashed water onto his face. He was wide awake now, the course grey towel that hung on the bathroom doorknob in his hands and wiping away the little droplets of water that clung to his cheeks. Wonwoo was cold, but that was only normal. Wonwoo never felt warm in the winter time.

He left the bathroom and went into the living room. He made his way over to the daisy, his fingers tugging at the sleeves of the sweater that he threw over him after he woke up. He leaned against the wall by the window and brought his face just close enough to the petals that they tickled his cheek. Although it was dark outside and inside the apartment, Wonwoo could still make out the number of petals that were on the daisy. He definitely was counting the lonely petals now. There were still six petals, and Wonwoo frowned. There should have been five, but maybe six was a good thing. Maybe the daisy was going to live just a little longer, just maybe.

Wonwoo stood upright and suddenly went off into the storage room. If he recollected properly, there were a bunch of sparklers that were sitting untouched in the corner of the storage room. Sure enough, they were collecting dust in the farthest corner of the room, Wonwoo smiling softly as he picked up the dusty boxes of sparklers. He started coughing as he walked out of the room; the dust found its way into his nose and lungs. Wonwoo kept coughing as he closed the storage room door and walked into the kitchen.

He had gone into the kitchen to find the matches, but for some reason, finding the matches were more difficult to find than the sparklers despite the fact that he and Mingyu used the matches more frequently than the sparklers themselves. He kept searching through the drawers and cabinets before someone handed him the box of matches. He looked up to see Mingyu rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Wonwoo thanking him quietly as he took the box of matches from him.

"Good morning. Did I wake you up?" Wonwoo asked as he checked the time; it was almost five in the morning.

"No, I just couldn't sleep," Mingyu suppressed a yawn.

Wonwoo nodded as he got out of the kitchen, Mingyu following closely behind as Wonwoo went to the shoe closet. He grabbed a thick jacket and shoes before wearing them fairly quickly, Mingyu reciprocating his actions.

"Are you going outside to play with the sparklers?" Mingyu asked.

"Yeah, they've been bothering me since I've had them for a while and haven't used them," Wonwoo found his scarf and wrapped it around his neck.

The apartment was silent at five in the morning as Wonwoo and Mingyu went outside. Mingyu watched from his place at the door, Wonwoo frowning as he opened the boxes of sparklers. He lit the first sparkler and sat on the one step right in front of their apartment. Wonwoo asked if Mingyu wanted to play with the sparklers as well, but Mingyu declined. Wonwoo just sat on the stair by himself and watched the sparkler light up the darkness of the morning. One by one, he kept lighting the sparklers silently and let the crackle of the sparklers ring out into the silent morning.

"Hey," Wonwoo said quietly as he let another sparkler light up. "Mingyu?"

"Yes?"

"Do you seriously not remember taking me to the library?" Wonwoo asked without turning around.

"I didn't take you to one, Wonwoo. I'm sorry."

Wonwoo still hadn't turned around. He just continued to watch the sparkler with his dull eyes, his chin digging into the scarf.

"What about a bookstore? Does that ring a bell?"

"No."

Wonwoo bit his lower lip as the sparkler died. There were no more for him to light up; that was the end. The sun was starting to show up in the horizon, the sky filling up with a pleasant shade of orange. Wonwoo watched the sky in disgust as he collected the remains of the sparklers he lit up. Wonwoo hated the color orange.

"When did we go to this library?" Mingyu asked as Wonwoo got up and was about to enter the apartment.

"The twentieth, I think," Wonwoo thought out loud. "I'm pretty sure I got a book for you."

"You must be imagining things, Wonwoo," Mingyu shook his head.

"I guess I must be," Wonwoo couldn't help but agree. "I didn't get a book anyways."

Mingyu exhaled as he took the box of now worn out sparklers from Wonwoo's hands, Wonwoo staying outside to think about whether or not the library simply was a dream. He took a step back and looked through the window at the lonely daisy who said hello to the sun. There were five petals left. Wonwoo smiled in relief; the daisy was right.