Cried Wolf

Taotao, you alright now? Doin’ okay?

Sorry… This is probably really annoying.

Nooo, I didn’t know you couldn’t ride trains. I’m sorry.

Nah, it’s just… I thought I’d be okay by now. I do fine on cars and planes, and it’s been a while since I’ve been on a train…

Cheer up! Here, you want some ice cream?

It’s soooo good! There are little frozen fruits inside it! Here, try some! ♪

Oh, sure… *munch* That’s good. Sorry, I know you were looking forward to today.

It’s okay! Why don’t you like trains anyway?

Umm… I guess I should tell you, since you told me about your past too.

Hm?

You remember how I talked about being on TV for my family, right?

I wanted my parents to praise me, so…I used to do magic tricks. Like, card guessing? Stuff like that. I lied about being a psychic too.

…!

My parents are… Well, they’re not bad people, but they’re kinda gullible, so…they get caught up in some weird ideas.

So they thought that I was chosen by God.

Really…?

I have a little brother, but my parents didn’t really care for him…

I didn’t want that to happen anymore, so I told everyone that I wasn’t really a psychic on live TV. And…

Naturally, everyone started calling me a liar and a fraud, and they talked about me behind my back. They’d gossip about me when they saw me on the train…so I stopped wanting to ride trains altogether.

That makes sense…

But I’m older now, and I look different, so I figured people wouldn’t recognize me anymore… I thought I could start riding trains again.

Uh… Kinda stupid, right? Sorry. I’m even worse than I thought I was. That doesn’t feel great…

Taotao… I don’t think that way about you. I think you’re really strong.

You always tell the truth about everything.

Yeah, that’s ‘cuz I used to be a liar. I promised to stop telling lies after that.

It must’ve been really hard to be on TV all the time like that.

Hmm… It was harder realizing my parents still believed in my psychic powers, even after I said it was all a lie.

I always had a feeling they were looking at something else that wasn’t me. We never really came to an understanding in the end.

…Guess we both grew up with crazy parents.

Haha, yeah.

But it’s okay if you can’t ride trains! Idols always ride in minivans anyway!

And you said you could do card tricks, right? Chii wants to see!

Huh? Dude, it’s kind of a source of trauma for me…

It’s okay! Conquer your fears! Every idol needs to have a special talent!

It’s a little more than just “conquering a fear,” y’know!

(I remember how he used to pressure me into showing him card tricks in high school too… I can still do it by muscle memory. It’s kinda nostalgic to be talking to someone like this.)

Well… Sure, if I feel like it.

‘Kay, that’s a promise! ♪

Man, I dunno if I can handle our show tonight. I can’t even ride a train…

And now I’m remembering that I don’t like being the center of attention…

(That makes sense, considering his trauma from being on TV.)

If you mess up, Chii will save you!

You can rely on me when we’re up on stage. I may not look like it, but I got a lotta experience with this kinda thing!

Seriously? That’s good to hear…

(Taotao’s helping me out so much, so…I wanna help him during our shows, at least.)

(And I’m…really happy that he confided in me. Does this mean that we’re…friends? If we are, then…)

(This is the first time I’ve ever made a real friend.)