The night was placid even with the sound of distant honking. City lights brightened the pitch black sky. Just a while ago, the lights were lesser than it was now. That was a sign that many residents were now awake, doing whatever they did at four in the morning. At this moment, Nabi sat on her bed, wide awake, her knees almost touching her chest. As she couldn't sleep, she enjoyed the silence and the picturesque view her window brought her instead. Living on the fifteenth floor made her appreciate the world just a little.

Early morning breeze sailed inside her room which made her pull the blanket wrapped around her as well as her knees even closer. On particularly sadder nights, she would slide her window open, welcoming the morning wind. She has been doing that for two nights straight now.

Her phone buzzed. Thinking it was just a message, she ignored it. But it continued vibrating on her bed that it got on her nerves. Who would even call her at this hour? There weren't that much people who knew her number. In fact, she could count those who knew in just one hand. Don't tell me... it's Shui? She guessed, hoping the caller isn't him. There was no reason for him to call her. She made it clear to him that he can only call her when he's dead. Groaning, she made a mess of the bed, trying to find it.

"AHHH!" The voice came from the glowing phone just beside her feet. Damn, my foot answered it.

"I'M SO TIRED OF IT ALL!" Nomura Shui-ssi was written across her phone screen. Her eyebrows crossed, creasing her forehead. What the hell is this person's problem?

Nabi was about to end the call when the person who seemed to be Shui screamed one more time along with a firetruck siren which she heard echoing from the distance. She looked outside the window-- two firetrucks just passed by the bridge across the other side of the river. From the call, she could hear water splashing on something. Is this person over there? She deducted, eyeing the riverside dike which was too far for her to see if anyone was there.

Without thinking straight, Nabi grabbed her coat and scarf. She wore the coat and wrapped the scarf around her neck as she snuck out of the house. Barely, she made it out without waking anyone, especially her monster of a father who she, thankfully, managed to dodge this time.

Now that she was out of the house, walking towards the bridge, she just realized that answering that call was a bad idea. Judging from the call she just received, Shui was probably drunk. Never before had she babysit a drunk person. Her father was an exception since every time her father comes home drunk from work parties, she would just curl in a corner, as he throws at her things that might actually kill her: shoes, picture frames, vases, bottles. But she's still alive to take care of the mess first thing in the morning.

The time ticked-tocked but she still couldn't sleep. But she didn't have anything to do. Accompanying a drunk person gave her a reason to get out of that suffocating house. Why did he even drink so much to get wasted? She shook her head as she dragged her feet closer to Shui who was sitting at the edge, staring at the river. If he leaned to the water closer, he would probably dive in. As soon as she came close, she sat beside him, leaving a space for two persons in between. Shui reeked so much of alcohol that Nabi's nose crinkled.

"Oh," Shui blurted out in surprise, eyes barely open. Giggling to himself, he asked, "How did you know I was here? Are you real?"

Shui reached his left arm out, as if he wanted to touch her, which made Nabi lean away. He only wore a coat that looked like it wasn't thick enough to withstand the cold. Maybe alcohol made his body warm. This thought made Nabi want to try drinking someday.

"Oh," Shui blurted out again. Shui laughed at himself while he tried to keep his eyes open. "Am I going c-crazy? I'm hallucinating that Nabi's here!"

Nabi couldn't help but snicker. This was her first time seeing a comical drunk person. Most of the drunk people that she'd witnessed went all crazy and scary. "You're not hallucinating."

"I'm not?" Shui faced Nabi, moving his butt so he sat closer to her. Her face leaned closer to her, grinning widely. He reeked of alcohol so much that it crinkled her nose.

"Do you want proof?" Nabi asked. Without waiting for an answer, she slapped him, hard but not that hard. This made Shui laugh out loud.

"Why are you here? You're not stalking me, are you?"
Nabi nodded to herself, affirming that Shui did call her by mistake just as much as she answered his call by mistake.

"I live near here, remember? And I... I just couldn't sleep," she answered, softly, almost like a whisper. Her green and yellow checkered pajamas peeked out of her black coat.

Shui smiled when he saw that. His face was red in the moonlight. "So you like to roam around at night, huh?"

"It's way past 4 AM. And I just happened to see you here," Nabi lied. Now, it was her turn to ask. "What are you doing here?"
It took a while before Shui answered, "W-when my father died, I threw myself off this dike."

Shui brought his knees to his chest and ran his right index finger on the pavement in a circling motion. Nabi looked at him, full of curiosity. She didn't want to but she couldn't help not feel that she wanted to know more about him. Even if she wanted to go back to her room, leaving him here, she found herself glued to the concrete she's sitting on. Why she went here to him... That she still couldn't answer.

"I didn't want to die... I-I just..." He went silent, perhaps, looking for the right thing to say.

"Wanted to let the world drown you physically instead of emotionally," Nabi said, finishing her sentence for him. She wanted to look at him so that she could see the emotions reflected on his face but she stopped herself. Instead, her eyes remained planted on the view across the river. Her peripheral vision noticed him nod.

"Did you throw yourself off somewhere, too?"

"Hyunbi!" her father cried when he saw his beloved son tumble over the railings. The sound of body falling on concrete that echoed throughout the small apartment building made her father scream in anguish. Nabi sat there by the balcony door, terrified, when her father looked at her with eyes full of rage. "You murderer!"
Her father quickly called the ambulance before running of to where his son's body landed.

"I threw someone off somewhere," Nabi whispered blankly, frankly. The screeching sound of siren that only she could hear rang through her ears. She remembered seeing her brother lying on the hospital bed for the first time, with tubes that looked like wires connecting him to machines so he could still live despite all odds. Her mother's tormented sobs echoed in her memory, aching her hear. But she never regretted doing it. She never regretted saving herself when no one else would do it for her.

"Is that someone doing fine?" Shui asked, running his hands through his face.

Nabi shook her head.

"Are you doing fine?" This time Shui looked at her. Nabi clearly knew that she wasn't but she couldn't answer. Her face remained still but memories rumbled like thunderstorm inside her head.

"Me, too." Shui grinned, bitterly. Pain was apparent in his voice. "I'm not fine."

Shui went silent after that. Perhaps, it was because the alcohol finally made him drift to sleep. Slowly, he lied down the cold pavement, snoring loudly. Nabi was left alone now, thinking to herself, reliving some memories she thought she had forgotten. Maybe, just maybe, alcohol could help her sleep soundly like him.