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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#201: K-popular

South Korean girl group Blackpink recently made history by becoming the first Asian act to headline Coachella, performing in front of over 125,000 people (and millions more tuning in via live stream). This isn’t the first “Korean Wave” (or Hallyu) to reach foreign shores; before Blackpink and BTS there was PSY with “Gangnam Style” and groups like BIGBANG and SHINee, to name just a few. Now we’re on to a 4th generation of idols taking over social media with dance challenges and catchy tunes.

K-pop is a fascinating universe with some of the most dedicated (and at times overbearing) fans in the world. Like all things, it comes with the good and the bad. Behind the uplifting messages, the discipline, and the talent also lies a high-pressure industry, one which has sparked debates about artist exploitation and the price people are willing to pay for fame. This week's prompts are inspired by K-pop, its fans, and the dizzying highs and lows of megastardom.

This week's prompts

Set your story at a large entertainment venue, after the show has ended, amongst the discarded plastic cups and confetti.

Adults – 53 stories

Write a story from the point of view of a “sasaeng” (an obsessive fan).

Character – 34 stories

Write a story about someone who has put “Blood Sweat & Tears” into getting where they are — only to question whether it was worth it.

Angst – 47 stories

Write a story inspired by SHINee’s “Ring Ding Dong”, where someone can’t get a song out of their head no matter how hard they try.

Funny – 16 stories

Write about someone who has always done something as part of a group, and is now starting to set out solo, or vice versa.

Character – 20 stories

Stories

“Limelight” by Zamauri King

Submitted to Contest #201

BAAM The door behind me slammed with a loud bang and I felt this rush of wind pass through me. I tried to keep my composure, to seem stronger than I really was, my bottom lip quivered a little as I slowly sunk down. I clenched the hem of my dress and tried to push back the pain, but my heart wavered too painfully. I couldn’t stop the tremor in my voice, or the swelling in my throat or the tears that welled up in my lashes. I leaned against the cold metal and slid down to the floor, feeling as if all my being had been shattered in that mome...

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“A Reckoning of Souls” by Topher Winters

Submitted to Contest #201

Marcus Sherwood had a routine. He'd wake up, stumble into the bathroom, and catch a reflection of his sleep-deprived face in the mirror. His beard was a stubbly mess, his hair was unruly, and his once-shimmering blue eyes looked like unpolished marbles under the burden of his memories. This was the glamorous world of a has-been solo artist, the world he thought he wanted for himself a painful lifetime ago. How he arrived here, and in this shambled state, however, was not the journey he expected to take. But there was time enough to dwell...

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“Unfounded Doubt” by Christina Schrage

Submitted to Contest #201

Lucy couldn’t shake the butterflies that had formed in her stomach. But, it spread further than just that. Her legs felt like jelly in her high heels, and she had a hard time holding her microphone steady. Although it wasn’t time for her set yet, she thought it would calm her to see something familiar. She wanted to throw up, but that would ruin her make-up. Which, in turn, would piss off her stylist. Not to mention all her fans that were waiting. The day had loomed over her since her agency announced it. Or, maybe it stemmed further back...

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“Her Biggest Fan” by Valerie Prottsman

Submitted to Contest #201

I can’t seem to walk away.The stadium is mostly empty now, save for the crew tearing down the stage and the janitors sweeping up confetti and empty plastic cups from where the audience once stood. One of them says ‘excuse me, sir,’ as his pass across the floor meets where I stand. I take a step backward, allowing him to go by, then return to my spot.She looked incredible. She sounded even better. The experience was like nothing I could have ever dreamed of. I’ve been a fan since she started singing, posting covers on YouTube; I’ve always see...

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“A Helping Hand” by Ashley Brandt

Submitted to Contest #201

TRIGGER WARNING: Mention of death and suicide.If there was anything my life had taught me, it was to stand on my own two feet. Now, living is a complicated thing, and nature has a way of maintaining balance, see? Survival of the fittest. Take, for instance, those baby animals on the Discovery channel- for them, it’s sink or swim. Their mother teaches them the skills necessary to their survival, and in the end, it all comes down to them. Them. Not some good Samaritan who happens by during a time of their intense suffering. Not some paid hero ...

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“A Memory” by Trinity Tatum

Submitted to Contest #201

Boom The finale, the drums beat passionately and dramatically, the euphoric feeling of the bass hitting your chest and lighting up your brain through your ears as the crowd roars and the almost perfect nostalgic feeling washes over you as you soak up these final moments of unity before everyone goes back to their normal mundane lives of being slaves to the system.In this moment, however, you are alive.In this moment, we are all one and our hearts all beat the same.The only thing is… the lights onstage went out and the moment ended about 15 m...

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“For all of us” by Britten Barker

Submitted to Contest #201

The thundering voices of the giants has begun to deafen, and the flashing lights of all hues has stopped. The giants murmur to themselves in and begin to stop away from the grass. In their wake is a holy land of sugar and new homes for the people of the land. Standing atop a blade of grass is the greatest scout of the Imperium of Ant's. They look out upon what the giants left behind, checking to see if the beasts are circling back as they sometimes do. He sees no giants and with a wave of his hand he signals the others to come from the gras...

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“Paper Cups and Confetti Dreams” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #201

“I can still feel it rushing through me.” “Do you need the bathroom?” “No, I need my next fix.” “What was so spectacular about it?” “Everything.” “I don’t get it.” I was sitting, floored by the concert, in a sea of clutter on the sticky floor. Cups were tossed underfoot with trampled confetti, and we were the only ones still there. The place was eerily quiet after utter chaos that could only be compared to Beatlemania, and I was a front row fan. My heart was racing like I’d had an unnatural high, but it wasn’t that; it was the thrill of the ...

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“Idol Blues” by Cameron Diiorio

Submitted to Contest #201

Emmy forgets her purse, of all things. The performance that had happened that evening had been so long ago. Only the sound of reverb, of her own voice in her in-ear, remains. She cannot sleep. She closes her eyes and sees neon lights in hues of pink and white flash across her eyelids. She rolls over. “Minju,” Emmy shakes Minju awake, “Let’s go.” “Hmm,” mumbles Minju, and she pulls Emmy in close, wrapping Emmy in sticky arms and legs, “I’m tired.” “I left my purse.” “Your purse?” “In the green room.” “Emmy,” Minju says, and sighs, and t...

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“Glitter Rain ” by Arrianna Chai

Submitted to Contest #201

Now I’m twenty-five staring up at the sky in an empty field with a mouth full of glitter. It’s midnight now and it was midnight when I first arrived on this earth. Unwanted and brave. Unexpected and slight. My heart is beating through my hands, which are still welded to the metal barricade. I came here alone. I came here and got exactly what I wanted. So, why do I feel so empty? I sense a trickle like blood weaving down my leg making its own sad, little stream. It’s the only thing I can feel besides my mela...

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“I Stare the Audience” by B. Mather

Submitted to Contest #201

I watch her name through a screen, flashing online, away, offline. I scroll through our latest chat log. We chat about the everything in nothingness and the nothingness in everything, sometimes repeating topics if we are short.My wife is aware. Her sour apple scowl serrates my impoverished, serpentine spirit, but she has my heart still. She has benefitted from having my soul - or so I hope - for it once broke her cage of isolation, and my own. The screen may have rebuilt that cage. I do not know.I watch her screen name flash green, on, and m...

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“Kookie Jam Jar” by Jay DeBurgh

Submitted to Contest #201

"I want you, even if no one else wants you, '' soothed Koo to the photo on his bedside table of Jeon Jung-Kook before heading to the hotel to work."This way Sir", Koo nodded his head showing Park Jimin to the hotel lift."Wait for me," smiled Jeon Jung-Kook. We can have drinks before sleep.The two idols chatted about food and aching legs from dance practice while the hotel person listened, staring at the glass lift to enjoy their reflection."I am sure he smiled at me, I bet he would have asked for my number if Jimin wasn't there." Koo sa...

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“Office-Tel” by Alex Hippenhammer

Submitted to Contest #201

“Gombae!” The 4 of us lifted our glasses, Ji-Eun and I shielding ours from view as we sipped the foul liquid. The TV on the opposite wall was playing K-Pop videos. I watched as Jun-Ho of One-Life drove a tiny yellow SUV up a miniature hill until he spilled out. The footage cut to a different field full of purple flowers and ballet dancers with another member of One-Life in the foreground, dancing with a yellow duck floatie around his waist. The video cut once more to a living room scene of the full band in plush bathrobes, jumping on furnitu...

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“First” by Dominique Sade

Submitted to Contest #201

Sam Harris remembered when she had first talked to YuMi Jeong. They both were the awkward looking ones, Sam with her bluntly cut shoulder length hair, her hazel eyes hidden behind thick glasses, and her lanky limbs that felt too long for a 15 year old, while YuMi’s long black hair was constantly tied into a signature ballet bun. Sam recalled how YuMi’s mother had been over the moon when she had gotten her growth spurt, explaining how now she could start ballet at any time, something that YuMi had always been hesitant about. The...

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“Perfect Lies” by Jordan Chu

Submitted to Contest #201

Warning: This story contains brief periods of disturbing and suggestive language. Read at your discretion. His hair...It's so silky and smooth. I want to touch it...to caress it His eyes...They pop like fireworks, so vibrant, so attractive. They whisper, "You can try, but you'll never be as beautiful as me" His elegant walk...his posture...his frame… It's all perfect. He's perfect. No one will ever be as perfect as Naru Shisuto. No one. I keep his pictures in my room. Maybe too many. I've had all of them signed. Everyone is...

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$250

Prize money

170

Contest entries

94

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 09, 2023 EST

Won by Chris Miller 🏆

Title: The Bequest

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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