"I love you."

She had heard the statement at times from the others—Korea (he said it to most the Asians), Japan (only once or twice, and it was always hushed, though sincere), even China (though those days were long past and gone, never again to return).

But she wasn't exactly prepared when she heard it from Hong Kong himself.

He had told her when the others weren't around, looking straight at her with those emotionless eyes of his. However, at that certain moment, they hadn't been emotionless—she thought they looked determined, but was too surprised to actually concentrate on such a thing. They had been sitting beside one another outside, just enjoying the sun. She had been eating some mochi and swinging her legs back and forth over the open deck, humming. He had turned to her and stared until she tilted her head and stared back at him with a questioning expression.

He had taken a deep breath before smiling one of those slow, small, rare smiles of his. He said it as if… it were the most normal thing in the world to say. No hesitation in his voice, no wavering.

"Hey, Taiwan. I love you."

She had said nothing, but it wasn't like she had been given the time to. After that, he had stood up, pat her on the head, then walked inside, leaving her shocked and… well, happy. He never said that to anyone. Though, being the worrisome person she was, she blinked and wondered a million different things. He was serious, right? He wasn't taking anything to make him crazy, right? Was he kidding, teasing her? What had gotten into him?

And the most puzzling one—what kind of love? How did he love her? What was love? Did she even understand what such a thing was?

Love is happy, love is warm, love is everything good.

But love is the most confusing.

4. pain

Both are bruised, both have been broken, both are tired and weary.

Him physically, her emotionally.

She's treated well, quite nicely, by that land where the sun rises. She returns his warmth. When he fights with her former guardian, she only looks up for a moment before resuming her business. Her relationship with her former guardian had not been getting any better, so she says nothing when he and her current guardian are on bad terms.

But when this land of the rising sun attacks her brother, that brother, she begins to find it hard to treat him as nice as before. That brother she loved, but had not nearly spent enough time with. A foreigner had taken that brother away when they were both young, and she had missed him.

When this land of the rising sun one day brought that brother to their residence, she felt her insides become filled with a combination of sorrow and anger. That brother was badly beaten, and from the narrow gashes on his face, it wasn't hard to tell by whom. She had to glance twice to even register it was him. The only thing keeping her from voicing her anger was the fact that she was allowed to tend to him.

She did so quietly, taking care not to cause him any more unnecessary pain. When he let out a slight, ragged cough, she bit her lip. That land of the rising sun had gone, so she talked to her brother, quietly. She said useless things, careless things, apologies. For a while, all she did was stare at him, his face partially concealed by bandages. He stared back, saying nothing. She couldn't read the look in his eyes anymore. She could before, but now... all she saw were blank circles of gold-brown, staring back at her own amber-brown eyes. She couldn't see anything in them.

But she just assumed it was her sight growing blurry, from the tears building quickly in her eyes.

She hugged him gently, yet he made no motion to return the gesture. She stroked his head and continued her saying words of nothingness, and she let him fall sleep that way. When that land of the rising sun returned, she pretended not to notice. She didn't wonder what he thought, nor did she care.

That brother she loved, that same brother she had attended to—was gone the next morning.

There was a pain inside them both, not ceasing until years later, but not ceasing nearly quickly enough.

3. flower; rose

They sat under a tree, taking in the summer breeze and smell of cut grass and damp soil. Neither of them said a word, but sat quietly in the company of the other, breathing in the warm air.

It was too late when they noticed the flower in her hair had been blown elsewhere, too late to note the direction it had gone, too late to catch it. She frowned and shrugged, closing her eyes for a nap instead, the humid temperature making her drowsy.

He glanced in her direction to make sure she was asleep, and ran off in the direction of their family garden. He stared wordlessly around at the various flowers, before gingerly pulling one from its place, and starting back in her direction.

When she wakes, he's beside her again, except that he is the one sleeping.

Feeling something usual, she reaches up to find a flower in her hair again—this one different, but sweeter smelling and softer than the last.

She smiles, then glances left and right, to make sure there are no others around.

When she kisses him and mutters a thank you, he smiles and pulls her into his arms.

2. singing in the rain

The last he saw her, she was running off into the rain, her face pained and pale. After some hesitation, he ended up following after her, already rehearsing in his head how he was to convince her to come back before she fell ill from the chilling downpour. But damn, she was fast. And small. And good at hiding. He sighed, hoping she had at least found some place dry.

His hair was already soaking wet, his clothes sticking to his skin, and still no sign of her. He paused to sit on a bench, panting, watching his breath turn white with the cold air. Where did she go? He could go back and wait, but he didn't want to. He couldn't leave her all alone in the rain. He wouldn't let himself. She was so small and-…

He froze, hearing her voice in the distance. He stood and slowly made his way toward it, the rain dulling the sound, making it hard to hear. But he eventually found her, sitting under a dripping Sakura tree, knees to her chest, singing. He had to look twice before seeing her small figure, huddled there, alone. She was singing a sad, sorrowful tune, with her lovely voice.

He made his way over and listened to her singing, not making his presence known until her voice grew hoarse and her melody ceased into soft crying.

She looked up and managed to smile at him through her tears, and it broke his heart.

1. studying

He stares at her from afar, watching her from the doorway of the classroom. She's studying intently and does not notice his gaze, so he continues to observe her. There are others in the classroom as well, lounging around and talking and socializing with each other. But not her. She's bent over her desk, concentrating on her algebra assignment. Whilst the others are gossiping and yelling about, the only sound he takes in her murmuring. She's repeating to herself the question, repeating the method and how to go about completing it. It amuses him how she does that, especially when she openly shouts, "Oh!" when she's finally understood it. The others glance in her direction curiously at her outbursts, but she takes no notice and continues on with a smile.

When she's finished, she hums to herself and finally looks up and notices his gaze, meeting his eyes and tilting her head peculiarly. He gives her a small smile and finally makes his way over to her desk, and she grins back at him.