Maybe someone said it already on one of those dozen pages, but the dude loving her since 9 years ago is a false emotion he created right now. After all, he had forgotten her. The flower field was the only thing he remembered from the village. He slowly started to remember her when they were talking about the plants later under the three, and then finally remembered for good when the red bear attacked. If he had loved her since then, he wouldn't have completely forgotten her for years. That doesn't fulfil the definition of being in love, haha.
But then again, I guess it does suggest something he did have such a thought now.