"Neh?" Dara gulped.

Her heart sped up, pounding mercilessly against her chest. Her felt butterflies in her stomach, this weird tingling feeling that resonated through out her body. She didn't understand how just few words from this child-like man could make her feel this way.

"Do you know what you're saying, Ji?" Dara asked again, dry.

Jiyong blinked. "..Ji..Ji ..Ji wants to see Ssantoki smile." he pouted. "Jiyong loves Ssantoki."

Dara flushed red, even though she knew he only said that because she looked sad. *So it was just something he learnt and he hoped to cheer me up.*

"Ji.." Dara went towards him. "Don't use those words so easily Ji."

Jiyong looked at her confused. "Did Jiyong use it wrongly? Why isn't Ssantoki smiling? The girl in the afternoon smiled so why didn't Ssantoki smile?" his bottom lip trembled in confusion.

Dara sighed softly. "When you say you love someone, there are many types of love, Ji." she explained. "When you phrased it like that just now, people would have thought you were talking about the lover's type of love."

"But you were talking about the friend type of love right?" Dara continued without letting Jiyong cut in. "You mixed up between the different types of love already. You should say it clearly Ji."

Jiyong frowned and scratched his head. He didn't understand what she was talking about, one bit.

Love is love. Why are there so many different types of love? And what is that darned thing anyway?

"Eh?" Jiyong looked at her blankly.

Dara laughed at herself for being so over reactive for what Jiyong said. Obviously he didn't know what he was saying, he didn't even mean it. She shouldn't even be concerned over this.

But it pained her somehow.

It pained her that he was refering to the friend type of love.

It pained her that she was hoping for him to love her in another way.

It pained her that...she wasn't entirely sure what was the type of love she felt for him.

"But.. Jiyong still loves Ssantoki..." jiyong pouted.

Dara's heart skipped a beat despite her common sense yelling at her to wake up. "I love you too Ji." she softened.

She saw JIyong's face light up and smile back brightly.

"In the friend way." she finished determinedly. *I hope.*


>oOo<


Jiyong felt happier than he had ever felt in his life. He didn't know what love was, is it a thing, a type of food, or a flower?

But the way Dara said she loved him, even if it was in the friend type of way which he didn't understand, he could detect emotions behind her words, and that made him happy.

He loved it when she smiled, he loved it when they spent time together. He loved it when he got to cuddle with her to sleep. He loved it when his heart would skip beats whenever they were together.

To him, Dara was some sort of goddess that made him unusually happy.

*Jiyong doesn't want to leave Ssantoki ever.* he thought. *Jiyong wants to be with Ssantoki forever and ever!*

Dara on the other hand, ran to her room and hid herself in the toilet. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror and saw a red faced, messy haired, completely flustered Dara looking back at her.

"Sandara park." Dara muttered. "What are you doing?"

Why had she felt that way when she initially thought that JIyong had meant it when he said he loved her?

Why did she feel happy?

He was supposed to be her dongsaeng, her

child-like friend. They weren't supposed to be anything more than that.

"I love him as a friend." she repeated thousands of times to herself, as if in some sort of mantra.

"I love him like I love Bom, Minzy and CL." she mumbled. "I love him like I love Seunghyun, Seungri, Daesung and Youngbae. Just like them."

But did her heart skip when she saw Daesung? No.

Did her cheeks flush when TOP hugs her? No.

Does she spend her time thinking about how cute Seungri smiles? No.

Does she feel like she doesn't want to be separated from Youngbae forever and ever? ... Youngbae was an important friend, Dara couldn't lose him.

But if she were to chose between Youngbae and Jiyong, who would she choose?

Dara groaned as she knew the answer very well in her head.

"Wake up Sandara Park. You can't have these sort of feelings for your dongsaeng." she muttered. "It's just a temporary crush. Wake up."

*I shall love Jiyong.* she concluded determinedly. *Only as a friend.*