Cried Wolf

Taotao~, are you feelin’ more zen now~? Brain vibes back in balance?

Sorry… I ended up giving you a hard time.

Nono, I didn’t know you weren’t too good with trains, Taotao. I’m the one who’s sorry.

No… I really thought I’d have gotten over it by now. I can handle cars and planes just fine, but it’s been a while since I last rode a train…

Cheer up, Taotao~! Ice cream’s the best cure for everything, right?

This is super yummy, it’s even got frozen fruit inside! It’s giving major vibes~♪

Mmm… It’s good. I’m sorry we couldn’t go sightseeing.

I said it was fiiiine, but since when did trains bother you?

Uhhh… Well I guess it wouldn’t be fair if you shared things about your past but I didn’t say anything about mine, Chihiro.

…?

Remember how I mentioned that I showed up on TV for my family the other day…?

I wanted to be praised by my parents, so… I did some sham magic tricks with cards. I had a phase where I lied and pretended to be psychic.

…!

My parents… aren’t bad people, but they blindly put their faith in things and… ended up believing in some weird stuff.

They were convinced that I was some kind of kid chosen by God…

Oh…

I had a younger brother, but my parents kind of neglected him…

I figured it was getting out of hand, so I fessed up on live TV. I told them my power was fake, then…

Obviously, people started calling me “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” and pointed fingers at me. They gossiped about me when I got on the train and… I ended up not being able to ride trains anymore.

I get it now…

But since I’ve grown up and I look different now, it’s harder for people to recognize me… So, I thought I’d be ready to take trains again.

(Sigh)… It’s pretty lame, sorry. I’m even more hopeless than I thought. What a bummer~…

You’re not hopeless Taotao… I honestly think you’re pretty strong.

Because you always… tell the truth.

Well yeah, I’m the “Ex-Boy Who Cried Wolf”. I don’t lie anymore.

It must’ve been really hard for you to be on TV like that when you were so little.

I think… the hardest part was that my parents still believed that I was chosen by God even after I said my tricks were all fake.

…I’ve always wondered what they saw instead of me. In the end, we could never understand each other.

…Looks like we’ve both had our fair share of problems with our parents, huh?

Yeah.

It’s fine if you can’t take trains! As long as you take anything else to get around, it’s all good! Minivans are the norm for idols anyways!

By the way, can you still do those card tricks? Chii wants to see it~

What? It’s still a little traumatic, though…

It’ll be okay, just work on getting over it! Having a special talent is a big plus for an idol!

“Get over it”…? It can’t be that simple!

(Now that I think about it… Back in highschool, I used to show that guy I knew the trick whenever he asked… I can still do it easily. Doing something like that would bring back memories.)

I guess I’ll show you sometime… if I feel like it.

That’s a prommy~♪

I wonder if… I could do it at the performance at the dining hall tonight. I’m too chicken to even ride the train…

I just remembered I don’t do so good under the public eye…

(I can understand that if he’s got trauma from TV…)

If you mess up, then Chii will be there to give you a hand, Taotao!

You can count on me when we’re on stage. I might not look like it, but I’ve got a lot of experience!

Really? That’s good to know…

(Taotao helped me earlier… so I wanna at least help him out during the performance.)

(I’m really happy he shared his secret with me… more than anything. Does that mean we’re friends now? Because if we are…)

(This would be the first time I’ve made a real friend.)