I think the difference between what makes a person’s intentions good or bad is the way they go about doing what they do. It’d be perfectly fine if Earn were in love with Noh and he stopped at that. But what he’s doing is putting Noh into situations that he is clearly uncomfortable with, and pushing their friendship to the limit, all the while banking on Noh’s obliviousness. Like you said, it’s up to Earn if he wants to continue nursing his feelings for Noh, but he has no right to try to sabotage Noh’s “happiness” with Phun (lol you know how I feel about that so called happiness).
I guess what I’m trying to say is, Earn has to draw the line somewhere. He had every right to pursue Noh in the beginning, but when the signs are clear, it’s time for him to back off. I personally wouldn’t think someone would be all that comfortable if their platonic buddy kept trying to make the moves on them to the point that they feel a little uncomfortable and trapped. Sure, Earn deserves to have good things, but NOT at the expense of Noh’s well-being or comfort. Is Noh being a little too oblivious and accommodating? Probably. Does that give Earn a right to infringe on his personal or emotional space repeatedly? Nope.