Translated by: ShawnSuh Edited by: SootyOwl You can stay as yourself too, Juho said to Agrippa . Youre the only Agrippa in this world who got to be in the water at the beach . Although Agrippa gave no answer, Juho felt that he was looking for evidence . He had been longing for some evidence that showed that he, too, possessed something unchanging . With that, Juho looked around . Sea, sand, sky, seagull, endless horizon . They were all things that he could easily make . Call your friends . Agrippa didnt understand him, so Juho added in the friendly manner, The Agrippas you were confusing yourself with . . What for? My ident.i.ty will get lost the very moment they get here . Dont you worry, said Juho, smiling . Ill find you . Find me? I can do it . We all look exactly alike . Im serious . Theres not one distinguis.h.i.+ng characteristic between us . Juho shrugged confidently . Nothings impossible here . A large wave swooped over Agrippa and rushed back to where it came from . However, it drenched neither Juho nor Agrippa . No, the Agrippas, countless Agrippas, filled the beach, fixating their ivory eyes on Juho . None of them spoke . Instead of seeing, they listened with their gazes straight ahead . Juho walked through the statutes carefully and tried to strike up a conversation, Scuse me . No answer . h.e.l.lo? he tried again, but there was no answer . With his eyes on the traces left by the wave in the distance, he walked past the Agrippas . Sand was taking up the s.p.a.ce once filled with water . Similarly, the Agrippas were occupying the place where the sand shouldve been . Following the wave, Juho walked toward it . It was neither this nor that, neither the statue next to him nor behind him . He went further, pa.s.sing a large number of statues . They all looked exactly alike, even their flaws . He tried lifting them, one on each hand . Their cold ivory skin felt smooth to the touch . They even weighed the same . It made sense that Agrippa had been so confused . I wonder if animals look at us the same way I look at these statues? Do they think that its impossible to distinguish us, like the grains in the sand? No, thats not true . A puppy knows its owner . Not one pebble in a valley is the same . Though they might all look the same to some people, the pebbles each have their own unique shape . Once theres a memory attached to it, its shape evolves into something even more unique . For that reason, I know I can find Agrippa here . Found you, declared Juho, standing in front of the wave . There was one last Agrippa in front of him . Having walked past a slew of Agrippas, it was the one Agrippa unique to Juho . He gave no answer still . Only, his forehead twitched ever so slightly, and the wave broke stubbornly . How did you find me? asked Agrippa . Your moustache, Juho answered . There were hairs placed vividly under Agrippas nose . Juho had drawn them in in the science room . Thankfully, they had remained intact despite the water . While in a daze, the Agrippa started laughing suddenly, Hahaha! He laughed heartily, resounding throughout the entire beach . The moustache vibrated as he laughed . At that moment, a powder-like substance fell on the ground . It was time to part ways . It seems like its time . It appears so . Agrippas face crumbled away, turning into sand . It was becoming one with the sand at the beach . Im sure you have what it takes to find me . Yep, answered Juho, confidently . Even if he became one with the sand, Juho would still be able to find him . Thats all that matters . Even though Im about to be reduced to a handful of sand, Im at peace . Just as his chin and forehead, his once clear eyes began to trickle down . Juho reached for him, feeling the smooth texture of the sand as it brushed past his hand . Agrippa seemed somewhat older . Maybe it was the sand, or the scorching sun that was beating down on him . His mouth spread open, but it too crumbled away before he had a chance to speak . I know, said juho . She wont change . Agrippa slowly faded away, his neck and shoulders gone . Its been a pleasure . With one last smile, Agrippa vanished . The water washed away what little sand was left in Juhos hand . Before he knew it, the water had come up to his neck . When did you get here? Water had a tendency to be fickle . From the water, Juho looked in the direction of the beach . A woman was walking on the sand, leaving footprints . By the look of the silhouette, she seemed to be wearing a hat, slouching slightly . Though Juho wanted to get a better look, he was moving farther away from the sh.o.r.e . Who could that be? The woman seemed to be wearing pants . Her silver hair became visible under the visor . Stopping in her tracks, she bent down to pick something up from the sand . Maybe she was patting something . She appeared to be well-advanced in age . Did she really remain unchanged or did she give into change? Juho wondered . Straightening her back, the woman went on her way leisurely . In order to stop her, Juho tried to shout, but no sound came out as water began to rush into his mouth . Agrippa . Juho had become Agrippa himself . Regardless of who it was, one had to become the sand in order to leave that beach . Juho felt his body crumbling away under the water . Whenever the wave broke, he got pulled under, sinking and becoming one with the sand . His eyes met with the blue, serene sky . It was the sky that he had always seen, and he felt relieved . A simple fact remained: He was still himself . At the sight of a seagull flying about in the sky as it searched for something, Juho closed his eyes . Sigh . Opening his eyes, Juho let out a sigh . To wake himself up, he reached for the cup that came into view . It was cold . --- h.e.l.lo, greeted Juho . At the sound of Juhos voice, the Chinese teacher looked up from his book . He was also the Book Clubs homeroom teacher . Despite being separated by a mere door, the school library smelled entirely different from the rest of the school . Juho was impressed by its subtle scent of dust and books . Once he identified Juhos face, the greeted him back with a slight nod . The shelves were filled with books organized into categories . Between the shelves was a small box designed for requesting new books for the library . The translucent box seemed rather empty . After thinking for a bit, Juho picked up the pen and paper next to the box and wrote down the name of the book he wanted to see in the school library . It was a book written by Joon Soo . Although there was a wide array of books in the library, his books simply werent popular enough . His fans tended to be quite avid, but they were few in number . Folding the paper in half and pus.h.i.+ng it into the box, Juho remembered why he had come to the library - to pick a book . Juho wanted to know more about sand . Just like how Juho hadnt always been Yun Woo, sand hadnt always been sand . It had been granite in a high mountain at one point . Either from external erosion or internal disintegration, the rock broke into enormous pieces . As large as it was, it took a long time for it to travel down the mountain . Eventually, it shrunk gradually in size, naturally and/or by was.h.i.+ng down the river . The rocks kept shrinking as they crashed into each other, bruising and wearing each other down . There was no way to make them bigger . The whole process repeated itself until the rock was reduced to the size of a grain of sand . Juho wanted to know where the countless grains of sand had come from . He looked in the shelf with books on geographical science . It didnt take long before he found what he had been looking for . What is Science? Easy-to-Understand Science A Quick Look at the History of Science How Did Ancient Civilizations Know the Earth was Round? The Fundamentals of a Triangle . Mathematics That Fits in Your Palms . Physics: the Fascinating Science . The reason Why the Sea is Salty . Nothing Cant Be Explained with Science . How to Make a Mummy . Mushrooms The Extinction of Dinosaurs Earth Climate in the North Pole . Standing in front of a wall of books, Juho started searching from the top . Sand, sand . It has to be here around somewhere . The book didnt come into view until he started looking down . Eventually, he squatted, going after the books at the bottom shelves . Here it is! Formation of Sand . Seeing how it was covered in dust, n.o.body seemed to have bothered looking at it . It looked rather technical This will do . Otherwise, I can just get one from the bookstore, he thought, picking up the book . When he walked out, there was a student sitting where the Chinese teacher had been sitting, reading . She was reading with the same posture as the teacher . Id like to check this out, Juho said . Just like the Chinese teacher, she looked up quietly and asked, Your student ID? Here, said Juho, handing her his ID . Taking the ID from his hand, she scanned the books barcode and typed the books information on the computer, seemingly familiar with the librarys system . Meanwhile, Juho glanced over at the book she had been reading . The book came into view while resting on her skirt that fell just below her knees . A lone bird in a gray background . Here you go . Thanks, he said . She gave him a light nod in response . With just them there alone, the library was quiet, and as soon as he stepped out through the door, the sound of clamoring would come flooding into his ears . Before he went on his way, Juho stopped to ask the girl a question, Is that any good? She looked up as she was about to pick up her book, understanding him immediately . Yes . How good? Quite good . A woman of few words . Seeing as how she didnt seemed to welcome the conversation, Juho went on his way without asking anything further . If you havent read it, you should, said the girl, her eyes fixated on the book . Why? Its worth it . Juho didnt say anything . Yun Woos story is kind of like sand in some ways, she added . Sand, huh . Juho had never heard his writing compared to sand . Looking at the dusty book in his hand, he asked, What made you think that? It rushes into the readers mouth without permission . Is that what Yun Woos book does? It goes into your mouth without permission? So to speak, she said, patting the book . With wind, fine sand can go anywhere . You couldnt grab it even if you wanted to . The moment you think youve caught it, its already escaping through your fingers . Its kind of annoying, but on the other hand, I feel grateful . But you like the book though? Yes . I wouldnt read it otherwise . I wouldnt recommend it to a person that Im not even close to either . I should be thankful, thought Juho . Thinking back on it, they had met before, when the entire Literature Club had come to the library . Youre part of the Book Club, right? Weve met before? Yes, and youre part of the Literature Club . She remembered him . Just like now, she had been reading then . While Juho reminisced about that day, she went back to reading . Without disrupting her further, Juho quietly stepped out of the library . Sand that rushes in without permission . Her expression lingered in his ears . The lone woman who had left for the beach had to have been carrying that same sand . Afterall, sand didnt discriminate .