beta
Jigu knows but our mc doesn't and that's why he is stepping back trying to figure out what is going on and if he is another stalker or just a lot of coincidences that has him misunderstanding things again.
And from the first chapter (and present as we are in flashback mode) we know that Ji9star keeps trying to entice him to meet irl and flirts constantly. So he has decided to pursue him. But as for friends or something more it is hard to say.