The cold wind caressed M's face. He was currently sitting in a plant box not far from their green gate.
 
Like other plant boxes in their area, what planted in this one was also flowering plant. It has medium-sized dark green leaves and bright pink flowers. Bougainvillea was commonly planted as a decoration on the side of the road in their town.
 
The young man's body leaned a little towards the small plant behind him. His two hands were both resting on the large plant box he was sitting on to support his weight. He slightly looked up at the black sky decorated with twinkling stars. M closed his eyes when the strong wind causing the leaves to rustle around him hit his serious face again.
 
It's getting late but his sister, Mharc, is still not home. It was not the girl's habit to stay outside at this late at night. If there were any such occasions, she always informed him properly, or Cubic Meter was with her so he was assured of his sister's condition. The last time he talked to her earlier was when he sent her a chat message and asked what they were having for dinner. She said that she would not eat at home with him and Aki because she had plans with her friends. They will eat at a newly opened restaurant near where one of her classmates worked part-time.
 
"Riri, is Sissy still not here?"
 
M turned around at the speaker. Aki's head peeked through the opening of the slightly open gate. Her eyes were fluffy and she was still half-asleep, obviously disturbed in her slumber.
 
They haven't seen the young man named Erwin after the cooking contest that Mharc's group participated in a few days ago.
 
"Not yet. This is the first time she has done this so I'm worried. She said she and her friends would just eat at the newly opened restaurant that their classmate was talking about. It's already late and she's not home yet," said M.
 
The tone of the man's speech could tell that he was annoyed at what his sister had done, but the concern in his voice and facial expression could not be denied.
 
"What else did she say to you? She didn't answer when I called earlier before I fell asleep. She was out of reach when I tried to call again this time before I went out." Aki was also worried about her friend. She didn't realize that she had fallen asleep on the sofa while waiting for Mharc to come home. At times like this, she wished she could control her ability to hear from afar. Unfortunately, to this day she was still trying to figure out how to use that ability.
 
Before M could answer Aki's question, a taxi stopped in front of them. The girl they had been waiting for hopped out of the car. She gasped for air as she successfully planted her feet on the floor and successfully stood up straight. She bent down again and grabbed something from inside the car. Even though she was struggling and burdened, she helped her companion get off. It was not insignificant that the other person had a bigger build compared to her slender body. She was almost completely covered when the man put his arm around her shoulders to hug her and take support from her small body.
 
M frowned at what he was witnessing while Aki's eyes widened. From where they were, it was certain that both were under the influence of alcohol, if not drunk.
 
From getting the balance in their unstable stance, Mharc immediately became a statue when she saw M and Aki at the gate of their house. Even her breath was briefly cut off from flowing when she saw her older brother's facial expression.
 
"Brother," began the newly arrived girl. Her eyes were fixed on her brother while her hands were on the man she was with. Her left hand was holding his arm on her shoulder and her right was resting on the young man's waist. "Why are you out here?"
 
"Why do you think so?" M began and he was about to scold his sister when Aki nudged him lightly to reprimand him.
 
"Why are you so late, Sis?" Aki asked calmly. She gradually came closer to where Mharc was standing to help her support the drunken Mario.
 
"Help me here first. This gorilla is so heavy. Brother...” Mharc couldn't stop calling M when he didn't move from his position as if he had no intention of helping her support their almost unconscious friend.
 
"Why did you get drunk? You even come home so late," said Aki while placing Mario's other arm on her shoulders to support his weight.
 
Later M also helped them. The young man guided his best friend. Aki supported Mharc for she was also walking unstable.
 
"You, Mharc—"
 
"I only drank a little, Brother. This friend of ours, Mario, seems to be broken-hearted. I just sympathized with him," Mharc immediately cut off her older brother's second attempt to scold her.
 
"You told me that you and your classmates were just going to eat at the newly opened restaurant. Then now you went home drunk." If Aki hadn't stopped M, he would have scolded her earlier. As soon as she got off the taxi earlier, his mouth was itching to castigate his sister.
 
"I was actually on my way home when I saw Mario at a bar near the transport terminal. There! I can't leave him because he's acting up, I can't even stop him from drinking. He's so annoying, you know?" The young lady explained at length why she drank and went home this late.
 
"You should've sent us a message at least, Sis. You made us worried," Aki whispered but it was also within M's hearing.
 
She knew this was also what Mharc's brother wanted to say but she didn't let the young man speak up because she was sure that his scolding for his sister would be long.
 
"My phone's battery was empty, Sis. I looked for Mario's phone, but I couldn't find it."
 
M couldn't do anything but sigh while closing their door with his left hand. He was just thankful that his sister returned home safely.