Wheein was awakened by the sunlight through her bedroom window. She rolled to the other side of the bed, towards the bedside table, to grab her phone. She checked the time. Almost noon. It was time to get out of bed.

Wheein sat up in her bed and began stretching while yawning. After spending a few minutes staring into space, she decided to get up. Barely out of her room, she was drawn by the smells coming from the kitchen. She went there automatically, guided by hunger and found her parents preparing lunch.

‘Good morning!’ she said and went to give her parents a kiss.

‘Morning?’ said her mum. ‘It’s noon already you know.’

‘It’s still morning until we’ve eaten lunch’ replied Wheein.

‘Go wash your hands then, lunch will be ready in five minutes.’

Wheein wasted no time and headed to the sink. She grimaced as the still-hot water made contact with her burn. She felt her mum take her hand gently.

‘Did you hurt yourself?’

‘Don’t worry’, replied Wheein. ‘It’s just a little burn.’

‘What happened?’

‘I guess I tried to get too close to the sun.’

Wheein sat down at the table and began to eat. She was so hungry she couldn’t wait.

‘Are you going to Hyejin’s house today?’ her stepfather asked.

‘Yup, in the afternoon’, Wheein replied, chewing her food.

‘Don’t speak with your mouth full’, said her mum.

‘Sorry mum.’

Wheein swallowed the food and continued:

‘By the way, we are planning a little trip, just for a few days, would that be okay?’

‘With Hyejin?’ asked her mum.

‘With Hyejin, Byul and Yongsun.’

‘Are you taking a car?’

‘Yeah, Byul can borrow her father’s car.’

‘And where are you going?’

‘We don’t know yet, but not too far away.’

‘Okay, tell us when you know more.’

Wheein nodded excitedly, she was looking forward to the trip.

Wheein left her house in the early afternoon, the sun was shining so brightly. She really liked this kind of weather.

When she arrived at the Ahn’s house, she came across Hyejin’s father leaving the house.

‘Hi Wheein, how are you today?’ he asked, ruffling her hair.

‘Good, but it’s way too hot today, I don’t feel like doing anything.’

‘Hyejin said the same thing! So, she decided to take a nap, she’s sleeping in her room right now.’

‘Sounds like a great idea’, said Wheein. 'I’m going to join her.’

‘I understand why you two are best friends’ said Hyejin’s dad laughing. ‘I have to go now, have fun and don’t sleep all day.’

Wheein said goodbye to him before entering the house. Even though she had woken up at noon, a nap seemed like a good idea to Wheein. The hot weather made her feel like sleeping. As she crossed the living room, she noticed someone on the terrace. Thinking it was Hyejin's mother, she headed towards the figure to greet her, but when she got close enough to make out the person, she realized it was Yongsun.

She was reading a book, sitting at the table, feet propped up on the chair opposite her. She was holding the book in one hand and a cup in the other. Probably some coffee.

Wheein stood in front of the bay window, hesitating to join Yongsun. She was still embarrassed by yesterday’s events.

But Yongsun was alone, she couldn’t waste this opportunity.

The nap could wait.

She opened the bay window and stepped out onto the terrace.

‘Hey’ she said, to let Yongsun know that she was there.

But Yongsun didn’t seem to be surprised by her presence.

‘I thought you'd never come’ said Yongsun with a smile.

Wheein furrowed her brows. Yongsun probably saw the confusion on her face so she continued:

‘I could see you from here. You stood in the living room for a long time.’

‘I was considering whether I should bother you or not’ replied Wheein.

‘So? What made you decide to come bother me?’

‘I have nothing else to do.’

‘Does that mean you only come to see me when you have nothing else to do?’ Yongsun asked, raising one of her eyebrows.

Wheein shrugs.

‘Well, maybe.’

‘Rude.’

Wheein laughed and Yongsun followed her. All the awkwardness Wheein had felt just a few minutes before had already vanished. She sat down and looked at the book in Yongsun’s hand.

‘What are you reading?’ she asked.

‘Notre-Dame de Paris,’ replied Yongsun. ‘Do you know it?’

‘Yeah, of course.’

‘You read the book?’ asked Yongsun surprised.

‘I mean, I’ve seen the Disney movie so I know the story.’

Yongsun rolled her eyes.

‘It’s not the same!’

‘Are you one of those people who say the book is always better than the movie?’

‘Yes, because it’s true.’

‘Oh, we have a real book defender here.’

‘You don’t like reading?’ asked Yongsun.

‘It’s not that I don’t like it, but I find it hard, I lose my concentration too quickly.’

‘I understand. Maybe you need books on topics that really interest you, easy to read and not too long.’

‘But how am I supposed to find them? I don’t have any knowledge in literature.’

‘I can give you some recommendations if you’re interested.’

Wheein smiled.

‘Yeah, that would be nice’, she said.

Yongsun nodded and took a sip of her coffee.

‘What about Notre-Dame de Paris?’ asked Wheein. ‘Would you recommend it to me?’

Yongsun shook her hand instantly.

‘If you’re not a big reader, definitely not.’

‘Why? Is it hard to read?’

‘It’s French literature from the 19th century, so yeah, a little bit. And it’s really long.’

‘Then why do you like it?’

‘Because it’s well written and the reflection behind the story is really interesting. I like books that make me think.’

‘Okay, and what does this book make you think of?’

‘It makes me think about good and evil, about love and about appearances that can be deceptive.’

‘Sounds interesting. Tell me the story since I’m never going to read it anyway.’

‘Okay,’ said Yongsun. 'I think you already know the characters if you’ve seen the Disney version.’

Wheein nodded.

‘Okay then, to sum up, all the male characters are in love with Esmeralda, Quasimodo, the priest Frollo and Phoebus. Esmeralda likes Phoebus because he saved her one day. They met one night, Phoebus confesses his feelings, but Frollo arrives and stabs him, because he’s jealous. Esmeralda is accused of Phoebus’ murder instead of Frollo and is sentenced to death. Frollo comes to see her in prison. He tells her he loves her and everything, but she rejects him, cause he’s the one who killed Phoebus. Bu in reality, Phoebus isn’t dead, and Esmeralda sees him just before she is executed. She calls out to him, but he ignores her. Finally, it’s Quasimodo who saves her and takes her to the cathedral. But a few days later Esmeralda is arrested again and executed, and Quasimodo kills Frollo because he thinks it’s his fault.’

‘Wow, not a very fun story,’ said Wheein.

‘I never said it was fun.’

‘It’s really different from the Disney version.’

‘That’s why the book is always better than the movie’, Yongsun said with a smirk.

Wheein rolled her eyes.

‘If you say so Yong. And so, who is you favourite character?’

Wheein wanted to know more. It was really fascinating to listen to Yongsun talk about the things she liked.

‘Is it Esmeralda?’ asked Wheein.

Yongsun rested her chin on her hand, thinking about the question.

‘Hmm, no. I would say it’s Quasimodo. He’s definitely the best person in this story. Frollo is ready to do the worst things out of love and jealousy, and Phoebus doesn't care about Esmeralda at all, he doesn't even help her when she's about to be executed.’

‘What about Esmeralda? Isn’t she a good person too?’

‘Not that much, she’s afraid of Quasimodo like everyone else and she’s foolishly in love with Phoebus it’s annoying.’

‘I see,’ said Wheein. ‘So, people are afraid of Quasimodo but in reality, he’s the nicest.’

‘Yeah, that’s why this book is interesting. Quasimodo is depicted as a monster because of the way he looks and because he doesn’t know how to interact with others but it's because he spent his whole life in the cathedral. The real monst