Why did my ex boss contact me if not to offer the job?

Not my boss boss, but a senior colleague who trained me in a small office.

Several months ago I declined my old job back. Last week I applied for something else in the office. He messaged me to joke about me applying today and why he had received my cv

And we chatted on and off for several hours. And then I asked the question. He said HR will let me know and there's many strong candidates

I thought direct and not behind the scenes applying will make it less awkward but that has not been the case 🙃