Broken Memories [I Did it for You - Book 2]

32

Zen gritted his teeth, grunting under his breath as he struggled against the handcuffs pressing uncomfortably against his skin. He tried to wedge his slender fingers across the surface, finding anything that he could tug or pull to pry them open somehow or slip his hands between the cuffs, but after what felt like an eternity, the musical actor finally gave up.

How do people in movies make this look so easy?!

Blowing out the air from his lungs in frustration, Zen locked his eyes on the barbed probes of the taser gun shell that was still attached to his hip. He had no idea how he was going to pull it out, but he had to get rid of it before it irritated his skin anymore. Every movement made the probes poke and prod against his hip, making it feel painful and itchy. It felt as though two thin blades had been wedged into his skin, slicing his insides apart every time he moved.

"Any chance you can help me out here?!" Zen asked Jumin in frustration. "You've just been sitting there doing nothing! Don't you want to try and escape from here?!"

When Zen didn't receive a reply, he peered at Jumin, his crimson eyes burning with anger. But before he could spew any of that anger at Jumin, Zen sighed when he saw the man beside him. 

Jumin Han was a hardworking CEO-in-line who never let any insults pierce his skin at all, and if any of them did, he never showed it. In response, he had always given a snarky comment that made the person insulting him grow red and hot with embarrassment. It always came naturally to Jumin, and it was a skill that Zen had always been envious of. However, staring at him now, Jumin looked empty, deflated of any life force at all. His shoulders were slumped, his dark eyes cast down at the floor with a face that was void of any emotion whatsoever.

Letting go of his usual annoyance towards Jumin, Zen leaned over and prodded his shoulder against him slightly to try and catch his attention. "Hey man, don't let the words of that prime minister freak worry you. I'm sure he was just making up the whole president thing with your father to beat you down. It's what men like him do. He wants you to feel powerless"

No matter how plausible Zen's explanation was, it didn't work in lifting Jumin's mood at all. "My father and I don't hate each other and we get along naturally as father and son. However, I can't help but think of how distant he's been with me regarding my role as an executive of C&R. He always made it look like he wanted me to nurture myself with my work skills as he never wanted to assist me with anything work related. When I tried to explain anything about the business to him that I was involved in, he'd turn away and rant on about something else to change the subject. I always wondered why, but perhaps I now know the truth. He sees me as an opponent, an enemy"

"That might not be the case! Ma-maybe he just finds it awkward talking to you about work. Maybe his reason for avoiding the topic is to try and show you that he wants to spend more time with you as father and son instead of C&R workers and he just finds it hard putting that into words" Zen tried all he could to muster an explanation for Mr Chairman's behaviour, trying to twist it and pull it out from the light Saejoong was shining over it. 

"Yeah, that has to be it! And I bet Saejoong found out through some sort of journalist who was keeping tabs on you and your father! That has to be it!" Zen added with more confidence, hoping that Jumin would listen to him and forget what Saejoong had said. He desperately wanted the Jumin he knew to come back. As much as he hated to admit it, but Jumin was a smart man. Whenever he came across a problem, he'd break it down into steps and tackle those steps one at a time efficiently until the problem was solved.

But nothing Zen said seemed to work its magic. 

Jumin Han was lost.

First the betrayal he felt from V, his only childhood friend, then Jaehee's death, and now the ultimate betrayal of his own father. His own flesh and blood.