A week later Exo were in the practice room when Mr Zhang entered with the bodyguard. They dressed him in black ripped jeans and a red turtleneck jersey. He was wearing the same style of clothes he wore at the restaurant, except everything looked to be a tighter fit. He topped it off with a battered black leather jacket, giving him a bit of badass flair. 

Kyungsoo could see the others in the room looking at Ji with interest. They drifted closer to Mr Zhang, openly ogling Ji’s long legs and toned body. Kyungsoo hid his snicker behind his hand. He saw Ji’s eyes flick in his direction and he quickly blanked his expression, earning him a raised eyebrow. It was only a slight gesture, but Kyungsoo saw it and so did Kai.

‘Do you know him?’ asked Kai stopping alongside him, studying his face with interest.

‘Yep.’ Kyungsoo didn’t look at his boyfriend or explain any further because the CEO was clearing his throat to speak. 

‘Can I have everyone’s attention,’ announced Mr Zhang, waiting for the room to still. ‘This is Ji Chang-wook. He will join your team for the next few weeks.’

‘What?’ squealed Baek, unable to contain himself. EXO had been together for years. Why were they bringing in another person? The guy was gorgeous and he would certianly add to the overall iness of the group, but did he have any talent? Not that EXO needed any more talent.

The others murmured amongst themselves, except Kai, who was silently watching Kyungsoo. There was something not right with the elders behaviour. Kyungsoo knew what was happening because he didn’t even blink at the announcement. Kai wondered if it had anything to do with Kyungsoo’s recent visits to the CEO’s office.

Kai had asked why the CEO wanted to see him, and Kyungsoo gave him some vague answer about some movie options. Kai accepted his reply because these things happened from time to time. But now he wasn't so sure Kyungsoo had been telling him the truth. It was strange to see this new guy sneaking looks at Kyungsoo, although he was trying not to be obvious. Kai moved closer to his boyfriend. He was sure there was something between Kyungsoo and this guy Ji. He didn’t know what it was, but he didn’t like it.

‘Does he sing or dance?’ asked Jongdae, looking the man up and down. ‘Looks like a dancer to me,’ he stated noting his lean muscled build. 

‘Actually Ji is an actor.  He’s here to shadow Kyungsoo.’ Everyone turned to look at Kyungsoo as Mr Zhang spoke. ‘They will film together soon and Ji needs to learn the normal routines of an Idol.’ Mr Zhang motioned Kyungsoo forward. ‘So, for the next few weeks, where ever you see Kyungsoo, you will see Ji.’ He paused when Kyungsoo reached them. ‘Questions?’

‘Will he be staying in the dorm?’ asked Suho, thinking about their current sleeping arrangements and the rooms that had spare beds. 

Mr Zhang turned to Ji, who nodded back at him. ‘Yes,’ he answered, turning back to them. 

‘Please fit me in wherever you can,’ injected Ji smoothly. ‘I need to be near Soo not on top of him.’ Ji smiled warmly at everyone, whilst Kyungsoo cringed next to him. 

‘Let’s go,’ ordered Kyungsoo abruptly, pushing Ji towards the door and Mr Zhang had no option but to follow. 

‘Kyungsoo,’ called Mr Zhang as soon as the door closed behind him. ‘Is everything all right?’ He asked, looking between the two of them.

‘Yes, Mr Zhang. I thought I might get Ji settled before the others hit him with questions. You know what they’re like.’

‘Oh, that's a excellent idea.’ He knew exactly what Kyungsoo meant. ‘I’ll leave you to it then.’ He excused himself and they watched him walk away.

‘Are you kidding me?,’ snapped Kyungsoo, grabbing his arm and turning Ji to face him. ‘You don’t need to be on top of me, really,’ he asked, his eyes widening in disbelief.

‘Did I say something wrong?’ answered Ji innocently, although the teasing sparkle in his eyes gave away his true intentions.

‘Don’t pretend you didn’t know Kai was in there.’ Kyungsoo folded his arms over his chest and glared at him. Ji folded his arms and just smiled back at him, not saying anything. ‘,’ snapped the elder in frustration, throwing his arms in the air. ‘What happened to not causing me any problems?’

‘Come on Soo,’ Ji chuckled at his offended face. ‘He was being so possessive I couldn’t resist it.’ He laughed harder, making Kyungsoo’s irritation increase. It surprised him when the smaller landed a very painful punch on his arm. 

‘What a bodyguard you are,’ huffed Kyungsoo, feeling better after seeing the offended looked on Ji’s face while he rubbed his arm. ‘Come on, let’s get you settled in the dorm and don’t pull crap like that again.’ The pair turned and walked away, still talking animatedly together.

Back in the practice room, EXO were watching their exchange with interest.

‘They must know each other,’ observed Chanyeol subconsciously rubbing his arm.

‘What kind of relationship do you think they have?’ asked Baek, noting how close they were standing. Kyungsoo doesn’t let just anyone into his personal space. ‘Did he say anything about this to you?’ Baek turned to Kai for an answer.

Kai shook his head, not trusting himself to speak. He wanted to know what was going on too. That guy was openly flirting with his boyfriend. 

                                                                        *********************

Two weeks later and life in the EXO dorm had settled down. Ji was now a regular fixture with the guys. They all liked him except Kai. He was still a little cool towards Ji, but that was mostly because he was hardly getting any alone time with Kyungsoo. Ji quickly claimed any down time in his schedule.

‘Where are you going?’ asked Kai as Kyungsoo was preparing to leave the dorm with Ji.

‘They want to discuss the movie script,’ answered Ji smoothly because he knew Kyungsoo struggled to lie to Kai. Kyungsoo could maintain a straight face with the other members but not Kai. They had a scheduled meeting with Mr Choi for a security update and then hitting the gym. Ji was teaching Kyungsoo some basic self-defence moves encase they got separated.

‘I wasn’t asking you. I was asking my boyfriend.’ Kai glared at Ji, folding his arms across his chest, before looking at Kyungsoo as he waited for an answer.

‘It’s just a meeting Kai,’ he replied vaguely, opening the door. ‘I’ll be back as soon as I can.’ Kyungsoo quickly slipped out before Kai could ask anything else.

The pair walked in silence and got in to the van waiting for them at the back entrance. 

‘Hey, Soo.’ Ji nudged the idol’s arm. ‘I’m sorry if things are getting tough.’

‘Yeah.’ Kyungsoo acknowledged his words with a slight smile before turning to look out the window again. He needed things to be back to normal. Kai was not coping well with Ji always being next to him. In the dorm it was not too bad. Ji was happy to give him more space and Kai quickly slipped in next to him, but Kai was becoming increasingly unhappy with the whole situation. 

Kai recently started spending more time with Sehun, and Kyungsoo couldn’t blame him. He was keeping too many secrets from him now, and Ji’s constant presence was killing their precious private boyfriend time. 

‘You know I’ll be going with you guys to Japan?’ Ji asked, wanting to draw Kyungsoo out. He didn’t like it when the idol fell silent for too long. ‘I will be with you 24/7 when we leave here. We’ll be sharing a room.’

Kyungsoo turned to look at him, his sharp eyes trying to decide if Ji was jerking him around or not. He hardly had any alone time with Kai now and his was getting out of control. He needed his boyfriend. ‘Can’t you share with one of the other members. You can inspect my room, lock me in at night and then meet me for breakfast.’

‘No can do, I’m afraid.’

‘I need my boyfriend Ji,’ he whined, pouting at the bodyguard.

‘Sorry.’ 

The pair returned to the dorm after being away for three hours. Their hair was still wet from the showers they took after the gruelling training session Ji set. He’d upped the intensity of the training, thinking the stalker would strike in Japan. The threats had become more direct. Items were still going missing from the dorm and dressing rooms, but they were no longer being returned. Every threatening message now contained the words “want you dead or kill you.” Kyungsoo’s stalker was directly threatening his life and they were still no closer to figuring out who it was.

Kyungsoo stumbled into the dorm, his lower back hurt from being flipped onto the mat, too many times to count.  

‘Go lie down Soo, I’ll bring you a heat pack,’ instructed Ji, turning to walk towards the kitchen.

‘What happened to you?,’ asked Kai, his expression guarded as he watched him from the doorway leading in to Sehun’s room. 

‘I hurt my lower back,’ he explained truthfully. Kyungsoo expected to see Kai show some level of concern for his pain, but his eyes only narrowed as he assessed him. 

‘I’m sure Ji will take care of you.’ Kai answered sharply before slipping back into Sehun’s room and closing the door firmly. 

‘What the ,’ complained Kyungsoo quietly to himself, staring at the closed door. He wanted to follow Kai and yell at him, but he hurt too much. Ji stood by his bedroom door and waited patiently for him to enter. Kyungsoo star fished face down onto his bed. Ji placed the heat pack on Kyungsoo’s lower back and was pleased to hear him sigh contently. ‘We need to go over the details of the hotel in Japan, your travel routes and the stadium.’

‘Whatever.’ The heat diffusing through his aching muscles felt so good, he’d agree to anything.

Ji sat on the edge of the bed as they discussed potential problems. ‘You will need to wear a wire.’

‘What for? You’ll be backstage with me all the time.’ He didn’t bother looking at Ji. He was feeling drowsy from the heat on his back and the soft bed beneath him.

‘And so will your stalker,’ he promptly reminds him of the ever present threat. Ji wondered if they had any other options but there really wasn’t. ‘You move all over the stage, standing on platforms, and exit at different points. I can’t be everywhere. I’ll try to gets eyes in various locations but we can’t be too obvious. At least with the wire you can let me know if something or someone feels off.’

‘My boyfriend feels off,’ complained Kyungsoo, his words slurring from exhaustion.

‘Well, I can’t help you with that I’m afraid.’ He reached for the heat pack. ‘But I can fix this for you. I’ll just go warm this up again.’

He left the room and Kyungsoo closed his eyes, thinking about all the crap he was going through because of a stupid stalker. He didn’t pay any attention to the bedroom door opening, thinking it was Ji. It wasn’t until he heard a drawer close and he looked over his shoulder to see Kai with some clothes in his hands. 

‘I’ll sleep with Sehun, so Ji can stay with you tonight.’

‘Don’t you want to help me?’ How could Kai leave him like this, when he was obviously in pain?

‘I think you only need one of us.’ Kai slipped out of the room before Kyungsoo could push himself off the bed to argue. 

‘Hey, did I see Kai leaving. He came to check up on you. How nice.’ Ji smiled happily at his friend, as he leaned over to place the heat pack on his back.

‘No, he came to get some clothes. He’s sleeping in Sehun's room tonight.’ A tear slipped down onto the bedcover.

‘I’m sorry, Soo.’ Ji his head gently, letting him cry. This case was getting more and more complicated. Ji was struggling to stay impartial and professional.