Chapter Text
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“Wait! Don’t forget my blue Takis!” Taehyung yells at Jungook’s retreating form as he walks into the gas station.
“You know how he gets when he’s in front of all those snacks,” says Jimin as he fiddles with his laptop that’s sitting on the truck’s hood. “There’s no way he’s remembering your Takis.”
Taehyung lets out a particularly loud sigh and grumbles as he pivots on his feet and breaks into a run to catch up with Jungkook.
“And don’t forget sour cream and onion chips!” Jimin yells in the direction of the other two before turning to the man sitting in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, legs hanging out of the open door. “You want anything specific, Dr. Jung?”
Hoseok hums distractedly as he briefly lifts his eyes to look towards the gas station entrance, from where they’re currently glued to the notebook in his hand, “I’m sure they’ll come back with a variety of things,” he says as he returns to scribbling into the small black journal.
Jimin lets out a laugh, “Okay, but don’t complain when they come back with those god awful pickle puff things.”
The pen in Hoseok’s hand stills as he thinks back to the monstrosity that Jungkook had bought the week prior, when the younger man wandered into a gas station they had stopped at to fill up the truck. The snack had resembled the orange cheese balls he only ever got to eat at his friend's house, because his mom refused to buy anything that was that artificially colored, but they were a lime green color instead and tasted absolutely nothing like the dill pickle that the bag was advertising on the outside. As he had crunched into the green snack, he had to hold back a gag before quickly swallowing.
Maybe Jungkook shouldn’t be in charge of buying snacks anymore. Goodness knows that Taehyung hardly ever picks anything better.
Placing the ballpoint pen down in his journal, Hoseok turns to Jimin with an apprehensive look on his face. “Erm, how about you go along with those two and make sure there’s at least something that we’ll all enjoy, yeah?”
As Jimin looks up from his laptop, he lets out a small laugh again and quickly salutes in the direction of Hoseok, “Yes, sir,” as he turns in the direction of the building, he casts a look back at the older man, “Your usual beef jerky?”
“And an extra large Coke too please,” Hoseok replies as he looks at the radar screen that’s sitting beside the steering wheel, from where it’s situated nearly in the middle of the truck’s console just below the rearview window. It’s only 9:00 in the morning, but he can see small thunderstorms popping up in the Western part of the Texas panhandle as the dry line seems to be moving to the East. As expected. “It’s going to be a long day.”
He can already feel a headache coming on.
Hoseok hates spring sometimes.
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Hoseok's earliest memory of tornadoes was May 3rd, 1999. Something that he later found out when getting to college would also be a lot of his peers first memory of a tornado as well.
It had been a normal day, at least for a 6-year-old Hoseok. The same routine of a day after school, even in kindergarten, was to sit at the table behind the front counter of his mom’s banchan shop after the bus dropped him and his sister off. The shop would stay open until it was dinner time, when his dad would arrive home from teaching his classes at the local college for the day and they would all go home at the same time.
He’d be lying if he said he had great memories of that day. He just remembers his dad coming home early to the surprise of everyone and telling his mom to change the channel on the television that was sitting behind the counter, from Nickelodeon – a rare treat that she had even turned that channel on for them – to the local news channel because the storms around them were getting bad.
Hoseok remembers looking outside and seeing that the sky had been gray, different from the sunny color it had been the entire day at school. He remembers his parents watching the television and then looking at each other, and then suddenly, his mom started closing out the register, something she never did that early in the day. A few minutes later, they all piled into the family’s dark green colored station wagon and headed to their house that was a couple of blocks away from the banchan store.
Looking back on it, when he was older, Hoseok would be able to recognize the telltale signs of a major storm moving in, but all 6 year old Hoseok knew was that he was getting to go home early from the shop instead of having to sit on the hard plastic chair behind the front counter.
Once they were home and before they walked into the house he looked up at the sky and could see that instead of the gray it had been when they left the shop, it turned into a green sort of color. A bit sickly, the kind of green that reminded him of when he accidentally mixed two of the color crayons together.
Inside the house, his dad turned on the television that was in the living room, and that was when Hoseok saw it. A tornado.
It was relatively small in the first initial stages of forming when he sat beside his dad on the sofa, as his mom ran around the house getting putting various things into a bag – he later realized she was getting together essential things that they would need for them to take incase they had to run out to the storm shelter that was in their back yard – but as he watched the dark gray object go from a skinny looking line that extended from the top of the sky to the bottom, it quickly formed into a larger stove top looking shape.
He remembers the people who were talking on the television – storm chasers, he later learned – seem excited as they tracked the dark gray formation from their car. The weatherman, when they cut to him, also seemed like he was vibrating on his feet with excitement, yet tried his best to hide it. A total juxtaposition from his dad, who had a look of worry on his face as he watched the television screen. And Hoseok – Hoseok was entranced.
Over the years since then, he’s seen a lot of tornadoes since then. Both on the TV and in real life, but nothing beat that first time he saw the first of many that happened that day during the outbreak, sitting on his family’s sofa in his childhood house.
From that time on, spring was officially his favorite time of year. Sure, storms were bad almost every year, sometimes they would have to run to their storm shelter or plans would be cancelled for the day because of particularly bad predicted weather, but it also meant that Hoseok would be able to sit on the sofa and watch tornadoes pop up on the television as the news kept up coverage. He loved it. He loved spring.
Of course, things tend to change as a person gets older.
_______________________
The department has never explicitly said it, but they would rather that the research team stay within the confines of the state border. A ridiculous thing to Hoseok, but then again, he’s not the one who has to deal with the budget for the entire meteorology department, so he’s just fine with stopping just short of the border to the next state.
Except on days like this, when storms are already firing up and producing tornadoes in Texas, albeit small ones, but still tornadoes. How can they do research when they can’t get to where the storms are? There’s always a chance that the conditions could fail them before the storms reach them, and what is predicted to be a busy day could die right before it gets to them. It’s happened many times before, and it’ll happen many times again, but he would like it not to happen today. The forecast has been promising so far. So he really wishes that he didn’t have to stop before this line of storms crossed into Oklahoma.
A sentiment shared by his students in the vehicle with him, if the groans he hears as he puts the car into park in the parking lot of the last truck stop just before they hit the Texas border, are any indication.
“Come on, Dr. Jung,” Jungkook all but whines as he looks out the window. “Can’t we just once go see the storms in Texas? I mean, don’t we need research on them before they get here?”
From where he sits in the passenger seat, Jimin rolls his eyes as he taps away at his laptop, “You won’t be the one explaining to the head of the department why we went over budget on gas and took more mileage in this vehicle than needed.”
Taehyung lets out a snort from where he’s sitting in the backseat beside Jungkook, paper maps open on his lap despite the GPS sitting beside the radar that’s beneath the rear view mirror. When he joined the team, Taehyung quickly decided that he needed to study the maps to learn all the available possible routes around the state in case the GPS failed due to no signal. An idea that never occurred to Hoseok despite having had that exact problem happen to him on multiple chases. He relies too much on technology sometimes.
“You won’t have to explain that to the department head either, Dr. Jung will. Like the head would ever take the time to listen to a lowly graduate assistant,” quips Taehyung at Jimin as Jungkook tries to hold in his laughter.
Jimin turns around in his seat and gives Taehyung, Hoseok can only presume, a glare, “Excuse me, I think you mean the best goddamn graduate assistant in the entire department. May I remind you who’s helping you with your dissertation for this PhD you’re trying to get?”
From the view of the rearview mirror, Hoseok can see Taehyung stick his tongue out at Jimin as the elder of the two turns around in his seat to face forward.
Hoseok has known Jimin long enough to notice that despite the non frustration he’s trying to present at having to also stay within state borders, he too is itching to head right toward those storms in Texas.
It’s in each of their eyes, and it’s easily recognizable to Hoseok because he knows it’s in his eyes too. Of course it is, because at the end of the day, they’re all obsessed with the thrill of watching a tornado form from just a small thunderstorm to the beautiful chaotic beauty of destruction as it seemingly glides across the ground.
“Alright, how about we all just take a walk around while we wait for the storms to get closer to us, huh? Check the equipment to make sure it’s running smoothly? Maybe go get some lunch? I think this is the truck stop with the Indian restaurant,” Hoseok tells the other men in the vehicle. It’s only noon, and they’re already getting a bit snappy with each other. Close and cramped quarters do that to people. Also, having to stay away from the action doesn’t help.
Jungkook immediately perks up at the idea of food, even though he has already devoured all the snacks he bought at the last gas station they had been to just before leaving Norman, but Hoseok says nothing. He knows what he was like at that age too.
Taehyung, on the other hand, just lets out a small groan as he opens the door and mumbles something about how Jungkook better not try to feed him something too spicy again.
Closing his laptop and placing it on the ground, Jimin stretches his arms forward, a yawn leaving his mouth. “You gonna come in and eat something too?”
Hoseok feels his heart clench in fondness a little, he lucked out with getting Jimin as a graduate assistant because he's always checking in on the older man to make sure he kept up with himself. Hoseok tends to forget anything that doesn’t have to do with work or the weather. Just minor things, such as eating.
He knowsthat long after Jimin gets his own PhD that he’s currently working on, and moved on to bigger things, that their budding friendship will live on.
“I’ll join y’all in a little bit. I’m gonna go talk to Namjoon,” Hoseok tells him, nodding his head in the direction of the other university-branded car that’s parked beside them.
Jimin nods in confirmation and opens his door to get out of the vehicle as well. He slides down the side of the seat instead of using the step to get down and quickly closes the door behind him, jogging to catch up with the other two as they head towards the direction of the restaurant.
Chuckling to himself as he watches Taehyung drape an arm around Jimin’s shoulder to bring him closer, Hoseok is reminded of his younger self. He remembers playing around with the others who would be out on the chases, especially when he was an undergrad. The three men are far from being undergrads, both Jimin and Taehyung in the doctoral program and Jungkook in the master’s, but they just remind him of playful undergrads. He’s glad that the graduate program hasn’t killed their spirit. But then again, he’s not sure that anyone’s spirit ever really gets killed in this program. Not when they get to chase storms.
A knock on his window causes him to jump slightly and takes him out of his musings, as he looks out the window and sees Namjoon standing outside his door.
As he opens the door and steps down out of the vehicle, Hoseok can see the annoyance on Namjoon’s face. He knows exactly what he’s going to say, because he always says the same thing every time they’re not allowed to leave the state.
“This is the dumbest fucking thing ever. I get that we need to stay in budget, but why can’t they give us a bigger budget? Don’t they know all the data we’re missing out on just because we can’t go over the gas mileage budget they’ve set out for us?”
For all his own annoyance that he himself feels, Hoseok just shrugs his shoulders as he leans against the now shut vehicle door. “Well, how about you take your grievances to the department head, who will then have to go to the dean of the college?”
He has to squint his eyes as he looks at Namjoon, realizing that he had forgotten his sunglasses in his own personal car that's sitting back in a parking lot on campus. The sun is bright today. There’s not a cloud in the sky yet. No indication that any bad weather is headed right for them. It's a picture perfect April day.
Namjoon barks out a laugh as he shakes his head, “Yeah, and let you be the only one who’s still on track for tenure? I don’t think so.”
A horn honks as a truck passes by them, a hand waving in the direction of Namjoon, who waves back in greeting.
A news truck, Hoseok notes as he sees the familiar logo of News 7 splashed across the truck hood and sides. It looks like Seokjin’s truck actually.
Taking a look around, Hoseok sees that the parking lot of the truck stop is starting to fill up. Various people are driving on the interstate and stopping for gas, and the truckers are taking a break, but with a closer look, it’s noticeable to see that the place is filling up with more storm chasers. Professional and amateurs alike. Some moving out onto the storms out in Texas, but others are waiting to see what the storms do once they cross the Oklahoma border. Eventually, everyone will scatter like webs across the state as they each track a different storm.
“How are things going with Jin then?” asks Hoseok, breaking into a grin as he watches Namjoon flush at the mention of the other man.
“Shut up,” he just mutters back.
Hoseok just laughs as Namjoon now begins to fiddle with this phone.
He’s not entirely sure what Namjoon and Seokjin are, but he’s sure glad that something is finally happening after all these years. All he knows is that one day, the two went out for drinks a few months ago – something they usually all do from time to time when their schedules allow for it – when Hoseok wasn’t able to join them and the very next Monday morning, Namjoon showed up at his office between one of his classes and blurted out that he and Seokjin had slept together that weekend before the office door had even shut.
Hoseok couldn’t stop laughing for five minutes at the embarrassed and somehow horrified look that Namjoon had on his face when he had congratulated him on finally making a move on Seokjin. He had watched them for years tiptoe around each other, and honestly, it was getting a little exhausting.
The only problem though, is that somehow the two were still being stubborn and still tiptoeing around each other because they weren’t doing much to advance their relationship or situationship or whatever it was called when two people slept together every few weeks but refused to admit their feelings for each other.
Only Namjoon and Seokjin would cause Hoseok more exhaustion even after they made a move on each other.
Shaking his head, Hoseok watches as Namjoon looks where Seokjin’s truck has parked, flush still on his face, only getting deeper as the driver's door opens and the man emerges, stretching his arms above his head.
God, Namjoon is so down bad. The two have got to get their shit together, Hoseok thinks, as he notices Namjoon’s eyes grow big as he continues watching the other man. He would like to attend a wedding one day and give a best man toast at the reception, teasing his best-
“Uh, so there’s something I have to tell you that I probably should have told you a while ago, but I wasn’t sure how you were going to react,” Namjoon mutters as though he doesn’t want to be overheard as he moves in closer to Hoseok’s space. Which seems a ridiculous notion as they’re outside and it’s windy, and therefore no one would overhear them.
The smile on Hoseok’s face grows bigger as he looks at his friend and colleague, “What you and Jin finally got your shit together and are official now? Should I be expecting a change in your Facebook relationship status?” he teases.
Scoffing, Namjoon keeps his eyes on where Seokjin is now turned around and peering into the open driver’s door and into the car. It looks like he’s talking. “No,” he says a bit curtly, “Look um, so Jin has a new chasing partner. News 7 hired a new storm chaser.”
“Wow, Joon. Jealous already of his new partner? I didn’t think you were the jealous type.”
“Seok, shut up, I’m trying to tell you something important,” Namjoon replies hurriedly, his eyes moving quickly from Jin’s truck to Hoseok.
Pulling out his small journal, Hoseok just chuckles again, “So News 7 hired a new storm chaser, just another someone to take out to drinks one night and welcome into our little chasing community.”
“Uh, you might not be very welcoming to this new chaser.”
Hoseok's mouth drops open in surprise as he clicks the pen from his journal and instinctively licks the tip, even though it’s a newer pen and will write no matter what. “I’ll have you know I’m very welcoming to every new chaser that we meet. After all, we’ll end up seeing each other a lot during storm season.”
He starts to jot down a few words in his journal before he looks up at Namjoon and raises an eyebrow, “Or wait, are you worried I’ll sleep with this chaser? I thought I told you those days were over. It gets awkward after you don’t call them back, and yet you still have to see them when chasing storms.”
Okay, that only happened like once and the rest of the time Hoseok was the one getting ghosted by a guy only to have to see him the next week at a random gas station on a chase and have it be confirmed that the guy didn’t actually get picked up by a tornado and that was the reason why he didn’t text Hoseok back.
“Trust me,” says Namjoon, “I don’t think you’ll have that problem with this new guy.”
Rolling his eyes, Hoseok looks towards Seokjin’s truck again as he sees him closing his door and walking toward the hood of the truck to meet up with what looks like the person who was in his passenger seat. That must be the new chaser then.
It’s a man of smaller stature, well, anyone looks small next to Seokjin and his massive shoulders, so that’s no surprise. He’s dressed in the usual uniform that News 7 has their storm chasers in, a blue polo with the station logo on the left side of the breast of the shirt, khaki pants, and a black baseball cap with the logo on it as well.
Actually, the man seems kind of familiar, Hoseok thinks to himself. But he wouldn’t know any new hire that the news station would have. He knows a plethora of storm chasers, sure, but not quite so many in the news broadcasting market. They’re a bit of a different breed. Seokjin is an exception.
“Hoseok, I really should have told you–”
“Wait,” interrupts Hoseok. His heartbeat picks up as he continues looking in the direction of the two Channel 7 storm chasers. The new chaser has just taken off his hat and his shaking his head and is running a hand through his dark hair.
Fuck.
Hoseok knows that face. He wasn’t seen it in over 11 years but he knows it. Hasn’t been able to forget it since the last time he saw the man when he rejected him after 3 years of tiptoeing around what it was that was transpiring between them. Or what Hoseok thought was transpiring between them.
What the fuck.
Seriously?
There’s no way that he’s back. It’s been over a decade. And there’s certainly no way Namjoon knew and wouldn’t tell him even if he was back.
“Namjoon,” Hoseok says quietly, “Who is the new hire for News 7?”
Namjoon’s face flushes again as he scratches the back of his neck nervously, “Yeah, so that’s the thing I’ve been trying to tell you. Uh…”
Hoseok’s eyes follow the two men who are now walking towards the gas station store. If there was any doubt in his mind about who he thinks he just saw and who is now knocking shoulders with Seokjin, Namjoon’s uneasy voice is confirming it.
“Namjoon Kim, who is the new chaser?”
Letting out an uneasy laugh, one that is fake, Namjoon finally says the name that has been flashing like a bright neon sign in Hoseok’s head. A name that he thought he wouldn’t have to hear, let alone see the man himself, ever again.
“The new Channel 7 chaser is Yoongi Min.”
Hoseok lets his head fall against the vehicle door behind him.
Fuck.