In a recent Pride Month 2026 exclusive interview with Pop Base, JUST B’s member Bain, the first openly gay male idol in an active K-pop group, mentions Hudson Williams while discussing what connected him with “Heated Rivalry”.
"My love for “Heated Rivalry” is very real too. Hudson and I are the same age, and Connor is only a year older than me. So, what does that mean? I’m not saying it’s fate… but I’m not not saying it either [laughing]. What connected with me with “Heated Rivalry” wasn’t only the romance, but everything around it: the longing, the tension, the secrecy, the way Shane and Ilya spend so much time fighting the world, and sometimes themselves, while still finding their way back to each other.
What stayed with me most was how human they felt. Just people trying to protect love while learning how to exist honestly inside it. Maybe that’s why queer stories matter so much; they remind us that love has never been one-size-fits-all, and neither are people."
Full interview here:
https://t.co/V9YQDoRrVc
In an interview with Pop Base, JUST B’s Bain reflects on becoming the first openly gay male idol in an active K-Pop group, queer visibility in Korean entertainment and more.
Read: https://t.co/iq1eHxrN5s