Oh man, we dodged a bullet there. I would have hated this series for going down the "fake relationship to make love interest jealous" route but It's still kinda doing it but with less consequences so I still like this series.
The author is trying very hard to make the guy a "nice guy", but I can't help but hate him. He has the personality of an eggplant.
I kinda agree with you but I wouldn't say I hate him