he's so casual about it, and he's not even suggesting dating. Just that they should be close publicly :')
That's because he's not blushing. He's not particularly flustered, or anxious, he's showing none of the signs of a person in love. He may like him, but considering how he's been presented to us and how much his head is in the gutter, it's more logical to think he likes their chemistry in bed rather than MC as a person. ML did nothing but pester him to sleep with him again most of the time.
Yeah, MC's behaviour most likely piqued his interest since, I'm guessing, he's used to being fawned over, but there's nothing deep in his liking. Nothing conscious at the very least.
side note lol: it’s lowkey so funny how literally NO ONE in the comments is taking his confession seriously, we’ve all been burnt and traumatized before so we know where this is going