The sun was barely up when alarms sounded. A mixture of Raven, Girls Generation, and Girls Day songs played. Groans left the bodies scattered across beds that were being forced out of their cozy slumber. Hands reached out, each grabbing a phone to silence the noise makers. The three dongsaes wanted to get more sleep, but they knew they had an important schedule to keep and if they didn’t get up now, they wouldn’t hear the end of it from the manager later on.

As the girls rose from their sheets, a phone went off again. Glares were sent towards Heather as she fumbled with her phone. She apologized to the others as she stared at the screen, wanting to know who would dare call her at this time in the morning. Reading the name that popped up on the screen, she called to the other girls.

“Guys, its Ren.” She said. Tiffany and Seyeon stopped in their tracks, on their way to the door. They made an about face and marched back to Tiffany’s bed and sat down.

“Answer it!” Seyeon encouraged. “And put it on speaker.”

Nodding, Heather answered the call, hitting the speaker phone button. “Yeoboseyo?”

“Yeoboseyo, its Ren.”

“Ren-oppa, hey.” Heather greeted, smiling like an idiot. She had been so worried over the kiss they had shared, and then hadn’t heard a word from him since then, she thought for sure he was ignoring her. But he wasn’t and that just made her morning. “What are you doing calling so early?”

”Ah, sorry, did I wake you?”

“No! It’s okay, we were just getting up.” She said.

“Ah, okay. Well, our manager can’t seem to reach your manager and so he asked one of us to call you guys and find out when you’re going to be showing up for the shoot.”

Ah, right, the shoot. After winning the challenge from the first episode, she and Ren got to choose where the next location of the shoot would be, which turned out to be the zoo. A place that Heather had never been to in all the time she had lived in Korea.

“Oh yeah, the zoo.” Heather said and looked at the clock on the wall. “Well, it’ll be about two hours probably.” She told him.

“Okay, I’ll let our manager know and we’ll be waiting for you.”

”See you then.” Heather said and they hung up.

“Oh my god!” the girls squealed happily and laughed, all talking eagerly about the early morning call and what hidden meaning could be behind it.

~*~

The girls stood at the entrance of the zoo, snow falling gently around them. What a wonderful day to be shooting…not. They were alone as it was, Nu’est missing in action. It was starting to worry them, why the others haven’t appeared yet. They hoped nothing was wrong.

Heather stood off to the side, looking at her phone. It kept going off every few minutes with either a call or a text message. Neither which were something she wanted to deal with, at least not from who they were coming from. But she dealt with this once before in the past and she could deal with it again. She simply turned it off so she didn’t have to listen to it anymore.

Putting her phone away, she moved back to the group and stared as Jenny was given a card. “What’s that?” Heather asked, cocking her head. Jenny shrugged and looked to the crew. They motioned for her to open it, so she did.

“The Nu’est boys are lost in the zoo and need their noonas to save them.” Jenny read.

“Oh a quest!” Seyeon said happily.

Jenny nodded and continued reading. “Each member is located at a different point in the zoo and each is holding a clue to the final destination. The time limit is one hour. Find each member, figure out the clues and arrive at the finally destination before the time runs out.”

“Sounds like fun.” Tiffany said and looked at the others who nodded. “But where do we start first?” The staff moved about and handed them maps. Heather took one and the other was giving to Seyeon. Opening the map, Heather looked at and smiled. Five spots were circled on the map, but they weren’t specific places, just the place in general on the map. The front, the back, the left side, the right and right in the middle.

“Oh, this is easy. We’ll just split up and get together in the end.” Tiffany said as the cameras were trained on her.

“Alright, so then, how to split up?” Heather asked.

“Well we have the maps, so…” Seyeon said and looked back at the other two smiling. Jenny and Tiffany looked at each other and reached out their hands. The played a quick game of Kai Bai Bo, the winner picking their team first.

“Yes!” Tiffany said and moved to stand next to Seyeon, Jenny moving next to Heather.

“Alright, so we have our groups. We’ll split up and hit each spot to get the clues and meet up.” Jenny said and looked at the map. “Let’s meet up at the Marine Pavilion.” She said. It was close to the fifth circle, which was the around the Camel, Stork and Oriental pavilion.

“Alright.” Seyeon agreed. “Have fun!” she called.

“We will!” Heather waved and started walking with Jenny. They were going to head to the first stop, which was right in front of them.

~*~

“We should have a group name.” Jenny said. “What should our group name be?” she asked as she walked with Heather, looking for any member of Nu’est.

“Um…the looser group?” Heather asked with a laugh and Jenny pushed her then, snorting.

“Seriously.” Jenny said.

“Um…” Heather thought on the name carefully. She looked at Jenny and noticed something, they were both wearing purple. Had the stylists planned that? “The purple team.” She said and smiled. “Since we’re both wearing purple.” she explained.

Jenny looked at their clothes and nodded. “Purple team it is then.” She said happily.  “Ah, this is going to be harder than we thought.” Jenny said and sighed.

“Yeah.” Heather agreed and sighed. Walking past a sign, she stopped. “Hey, let’s go see the flamingos. I always thought they were cute.” She said.

“We don’t have time for that.” Jenny said. “We have to find Nu’est.” she said.

“Well…if we go see the flamingos, maybe we’ll find a member. You don’t know!” she said and pouted cutely.

“Alright, alright.” Jenny said and sighed. Heather and her cuteness, sometimes it just got on people’s nerves. They went into the flamingo pavilion and up to one of the fences, staring at the cute animals that walked slowly through the shallow water, looking for food.

“Aw, look at the babies.” Heather cooed and watched the little baby flamingos imitating the adults.

“How come they’re white?” Jenny asked, confused. Heather frowned; she always wanted to know that too. Looking around, she spotted the information board and went over to it. She did her best trying to read what was written up there, but her Korean was still far from perfect. But she got the jest.

“If I understand this right, it says the flamingo’s diet is mostly shrimp.” She read. “And the more of the shrimp they eat, the more pink they become. That’s why some are really pink and others or not. So apparently they are like chameleons then?” Heather asked and looked at Jenny who shrugged.

“Well that’s my best guess as to what it says.” Heather said and blushed as Jenny laughed at her inability to still read. As the teasing started, a shadow moved behind Jenny and something furry touched her shoulder, making her scream and jump away.

Heather’s heart was racing as she looked up and stared at the sight before them. “Yah!” she shouted. “Baekho!” she said informally, upset. Scaring the crap out of them like that.

“What?” he asked and grinned. He held up the stuffed mouse and waved it at them. “It’s just a toy.” He teased them cutely. Jenny sighed, rolling her eyes as she gathered her wits.

“Very funny.” She said and walked over, taking the mouse and looked it over. “Is this our clue?” she asked.

“Yup, you have fun with that.” Baekho said with a wide grin.

“Alright, clue one, a success!” Heather cheered and opened the map. “Okay, so where should we head to now?” she asked.

“Mmm, Seyeon and Tiffany are probably going to the second clue area, so let’s go to number four. And from there we could probably beat them to number three.” Jenny said.

“Most definitely, because they’ll probably go to number five after two, so we’ll head there and get those two clues and meet up at the marine pavilion.” Heather said, mapping out their plan in her head.

“Sounds good, let’s go!” Jenny said and pointed forwards.

“Unnie no.” Heather said and grabbed her wrist, moving it to point to the side. “It’s that way.” She said and laughed as Jenny blushed. They started walking off, waving a good bye to Baekho, who wasn’t even paying attention to them, and was instead imitating the flamingos.

~*~

Meanwhile, Seyeon and Tiffany made it to the second clue area, which was the Large Waterfowl aviary and obtained the second clue of twigs from JR.

~*~

The walk to the fourth area took close to fifteen minutes and it was tiring. Even though the sun was out, the snow was still falling and the girls were cold. And the cold the experience wasn’t just the temperature, but it was the dry cold, where their throats got dried out in a hurry if they talked too much. It was almost like the air was stale. Thankfully they passed by a vender selling water and bought two bottles. It would help them survive just a little bit longer.

“Alright, so let’s see. Our first clue is a mouse. Now, the only place to go here is the Tropical Birds Hall.” Jenny said. “We should start seeing a pattern soon.” She commented.

“I’m guessing birds.” Heather said and smiled as they walked into the building. “Oh wow!” she gasped, staring at the tropical birds that filled the building. They were absolutely beautiful and so breath taking.

“Wow, I wish I had my camera to take pictures.” She said.

“It’s just birds.” Jenny said and laughed softly.

“Yeah but…they’re so pretty. Besides, it’s my first time being at the zoo. I want to make memories.” She sobbed lightly and Jenny laughed.

“Maybe later. And if not, we’ll come back another time okay? Unnie will make sure of that.” Jenny said with a nod. Heather looked up at her and smiled happily, nodding her head. She was okay with that promise. As long as she could come back and make memories with her friends, that’s all she cared about. Well, that will be all she cared about. Right now, she cared about where their next clue was.

“It’s a bird, its plane! No! It’s…” someone called as they jumped in front of the girls, shocking them. With wide eyes, the two stared at Aron, who was grinning like an idiot. “An Endangered Species sign.” He said and held up the make shift sign. Of course they couldn’t take one of the real signs, so instead the producers and writers created a paper one for the members to carry around.

“Here you go.” He said and held it out to Heather, smiling sweetly at her.

“Oh oppa.” Heather said and took the sign, looking it over. “Thank you.” She said and looked to Jenny who was just grinning. “Clue number four, a successful find.” She said.

“Really? It’s more like these clues are finding us.” Jenny laughed and looked it over. “So a mouse and an endangered species sign. I’m still confused.” She said.

“Well, maybe if we get clue three, we’ll be able to find out what’s going on?” Heather asked.

“Yeah, let’s go then.” Jenny said and started walking.

“Bye Aron-oppa.” Heather called, waving to him as she left with Jenny, their next stop to location three. “So, we have a pattern of birds right?” she asked.

“Well, we’ve been meeting people at the bird locations. I don’t think it’s a pattern. I mean this mouse could be what we’re looking for and it could be an endangered mouse.” Jenny theorized.

“An endangered mouse? Really?” Heather asked as she stopped and stared at her. “Really?”

“What? It’s a theory!” Jenny said and sighed. She started off again and Heather followed, shaking her head.

“Okay Unnie.” She said and giggled to herself.

~*~

Meanwhile, Seyeon and Tiffany made it to the fifth clue area, which was the Stork Village and obtained the fifth clue by having wind shot into their faces by Minhyun, who laughed like a hyena the entire time.

That guy was crazy!

~*~

“Oh my god! I’m a frozen pop idol again!” Heather whined shivering as the wind blew against them. “Why is the world so cruel to us?” she asked.

“Wow, a year and you’re still not used to the climate changes?” Jenny asked. Heather looked up and glared at her.

“Excuse me. I come from a state that only ever had hot summer days and cool summer nights.” She said. “It never snowed back home.” She told her and sighed. “Besides, winter lasts for only so many months, so I’ve only experienced it twice now, cut me some slack.” She said.

“Wow, we’re just going to have to lock you in a freezer then.” Jenny teased. Looking around, she cheered as they entered the third area. “About time.” She said and took the map from Heather and looked it over. “So if we follow our somewhat, kind of pattern, we should head to the Peacock village.” She said.

“After you, Leader-shii.” Heather said, motioning for Jenny to lead the way. With a nod, Jenny followed the map and guided them into the open Peacock village. The sounds the peacocks made hit their ears instantly and Heather turned, watching the creatures over one of the fences.

“Oh, how beautiful. I like Peacocks. The male feathers are so attractive.” She commented.

“Then here you go.” A voice spoke from behind her, a peacock feather dangling in front of her face. Blinking, she stared up at it and took it carefully before turning. “Ren-oppa!” she gasped and smiled.

“Long time no see.”  Ren said and waved to Jenny.

“Wow, still gorgeous as ever Ren.” Jenny commented, making him blush and laugh nervously.

“Thanks.” He said and looked back to Heather. “Let’s talk later okay?” he asked. Heather’s eyes widened a bit, heart bursting with joy. But she contained her excitement within herself. No need for the cameras to see how happy she was to talk to Ren. Or a scandal may occur.

“Sure.” She said and looked at the feather. “Clue number three a successful find.” She said and looked to the camera with a grin.

“Alright, so now we just need to meet up with the others at the Marine Pavilion and place the clues together.” Jenny said.

“Mmm, but I think I already kind of have a guess.” Heather said.

“Well hold it until we get with the others.”

“You better hurry; you only have fifteen minutes left to win the challenge.” Ren said. “Thank you for finding me noonas.” He said.

“Aw, we’ll always find our baby Ren.” Jenny said and giggled as he blushed again. “See you soon.” She said and they waved goodbye before running off to meet up at the pavilion. Hopefully that’s where Seyeon and Tiffany were and they weren’t spending time trying to find the other clues.

~*~

Reaching the Marine Pavilion, Team purple met up with the other team and stood in a huddle collaborating their clues.

“You’re missing one.” Jenny said.

“Not really.” Seyeon said. “The fifth clue was wind, so we got blasted in the face with wind by Minhyun.” She said.

“That boy enjoyed that a little too much.” Tiffany said with a sigh.

“Okay then, so we have wind, twigs, a mouse, a feather and an endangered species sign. What could it all mean?” Jenny asked.

“Maybe the mouse eats endangered birds?” Tiffany took a wild shot in the dark, making the others laugh. It was a bit of a stupid guess, but it was for a show.

“Okay, so we have all these clues right?” Heather asked and the girls nodded. “Okay, and so there was a pattern as to where we got these clues, which was at all the bird locations.” They nodded. “So I think I know where we have to go.” She said.

“Really? Where?!” Tiffany asked.

“Say it to the camera.” Seyeon said and pointed to the cameramen. Heather turned and stared at the cameras.

“The only place we haven’t been to on the map that is also bird related, which is, the Birds of Prey exhibit!” she said and smiled. The other girls gasped and looked to the staff then.

“Is she right?” Jenny asked. There was silence for a moment before one staff member nodded.

“Correct.”

“Yes!” they cheered.

“But you have five minutes to get there.” The staff said. The girls gasped and looked at each other before they started running, taking the quickest route to the exhibit. As they reached the exhibit, the Nu’est boys who had been lost in the zoo, were standing there waiting for them with grins.

The clock was counting down and just reached 1 when they finally stepped in. “We made it!” Tiffany cheered and danced around with the other girls. It was like they just won the World Cup. Amazing what challenges would do to people.

“Congratulations, you won today’s challenge. As a special treat, you get to spend the rest of the day at the zoo, with special privileges.” Hoyeon said from behind one of the cameras. The members of both groups cheered happily. A fun day at the zoo, it’s what the doctor called for after a month of hard, demanding schedules. So Ren and Heather’s choice of location wasn’t so bad after all.

“And, as an extra gift.” Hoyeon started as two staff members held out their hands. Jenny and JR stepped forward, each taking the gift. “A digital camera to make memories.” She said and looked at Heather then who blushed but smiled.

“Thank you!” Heather said and bowed happily.

“Alright, pick where you want to eat and we’ll meet up there in half an hour.” Hoyeon told them. After gathering around the two that still held the maps, they all decided to meet up at the Marine Pavilion to eat there since it was close to their current location.

With their location selected, the two groups began their trek through the Birds of Prey Exhibit, making everlasting memories.