I think this case is a little different, since it's shown as emotion manipulation and something bad, where in the case you're talking about, it's treated as something normal or just underdeveloped
I'm very curious if this is going to be seen as "something bad"; while it seems that way now, it feels like we're eventually just gonna go down the route of Taichi breaking down and being with Haruki, despite Haruki's problematic behavior, possibly even sidelining his friends.
Still as a reader it's cleary shown to us, that it's not normal or healthy situation, no matter how they end up so far we are shown the truth about their weird dynamic
its meant to be read by grown ass adults who (usually) know what's right or wrong in real life, fiction does not have to adhere to real life morals jeez
That's the frustrating part; I see how toxic it is and I really hope they don't end up together--but they probably will.
Even when Taichi finally gets friends, Haruki's needling has really left him in an emotional state where he keeps isolating himself, and Haruki pops in to be his #1. It's a bummer because a lot of BLs tend to put friends/family on the backburner unless they're bad guys. It seems like this series is going in the direction where Taichi is gonna let his friends do whatever while he hangs out with Haruki in the end, and that's gonna be disappointing.