hes doin both lowkey
i think he's giving himself mixed signals
Short answer: he, himself, does not know either lmfao.
Long answer: he is in love with Jinwoo, but he does not know how to admit it to himself or how to gauge his own feelings because of his upbringing. Since he has been treated like trash by his family and has always been oppressed, he doesn't actually have the skill to be able to regulate his emotions in a healthy way or acknowledge them. If he acknowledges his emotions and give them a name, he loses because he has to face his loneliness fair and square. He has to face the disappointment from his family and the toxic nature of his relationship with his family, which will put him in an arguably more uncomfortable place because it would also mean that he has to admit he has no one in the end. Not a single soul would vouch for him and love him for who he truly is. How can he express who he truly is anyway if he is constantly being oppressed?
Through this lens, it is much easier of a choice for him to drown his pain out through physical means and emotional manipulation where he can finally obtain an upper hand. In other words, by having constant sex with people and manipulating them at his whim, he can finally obtain a form of control over others that he cannot afford for his own life. It is a sad character in actuality.
However, that is why Jinwoo is different. Jinwoo doesn't care if Taeyoung comes from a rich family or has an insane face card. Taeyoung knows this, and that is part of the reason why he likes Jinwoo too. But, part of admitting he likes Jinwoo would mean he had to acknowledge other undesirable aspects of his life. So, again, him telling himself he is manipulating Jinwoo is a safe mechanism for him to keep staying around Jinwoo without having to risk losing him. Because the moment he acknowledges he could actually lose Jinwoo is the moment he has to acknowledge that he is utterly alone. And Taeyoung is someone who does not actually want to be alone and hates being pitied, even by himself. This is also what drives him to be so possessive over Jinwoo. He can't fathom someone else taking what is his matter he's just managed to obtain "something" of his own for the first time. It's mind-breaking for him.
This is just my analysis of the character, so you can take my words with a grain of salt. But, I do think that he does like Jinwoo and is too far up his own ass to admit to himself. Hence, why the short answer to your question is that he is confused.
i still can’t tell if taeyoung is love bombing and manipulating/playing with jinwoo or if he’s actually just obsessed over him… cus on one hand he keeps saying he likes jinwoo and gets jealous when jinwoo talks to someone else but also he keeps saying he’s only there to sleep with jinwoo and is ready to dispose of him when he gets bored… so like…. i still don’t trust him when he tells jinwoo he likes him…. i need a whole yearning and chasing arc from taeyoung NOW.