Chapter 360
I've never been absent from this type of game-related content.
No matter what game came, I could easily show off my versatility and easily get ahead of the other members.
'Is today a day that I'm unlucky?'
I felt a little frustrated as I trudged out of the A&R team conference room where Ji Yoon-chul and Yoo Min-ha had left first.
Bottle cap blowing was a game that I had easily beaten the members until just a year ago.
It would have been different if I had never played the game before, but the fact that I had already experienced it and lost so miserably was even more shocking.
I shook my head and pulled myself together as I walked weakly.
Yes, in games like bottle cap blowing, luck is a little more important than skill.
It's just that my luck was a little worse than the staff's, so this is the result.
There's no need to be so dispirited. I just have to win the next New Year's mini-game.
There were still many conference rooms on the 4th floor that I hadn't visited yet, but I could hear Yoo Min-ha's excited voice again from far away.
That meant that Ji Yoon-chul was likely staying on this floor, so it seemed like a better option to avoid them and head somewhere else.
I went down one floor by the stairs.
If earlier there were many departments related to album production and producing, the 3rd floor was most representative of the planning team's offices.
I figured that there would definitely be at least one person in the planning team with New Year's money, so I opened the door and went inside.
'......... It wasn't what I expected.'
The planning team also boasted a large number of people, just like the A&R team.
So I definitely expected that there would be an employee with New Year's money in there.
There were only 4 or 5 people in the office that I could see.
Still, I thought that there might be someone among this small number of employees who would suggest a mini-game to me, so I went around bowing deeply as I had decided before.
But unfortunately, no one responded to me.
Just staring at the computer screen in front of them.
'My feeling couldn't be wrong.'
I stood up awkwardly in front of the last employee and scratched my head.
No, there really wasn't a single person in charge of New Year's money in the team that planned this content.
This is a story that my logical thinking absolutely cannot accept.
But reality is reality.
Just as I was about to move to another place while shaking off my hanbok.
"Ahem, ahem!"
"......?"
Out of nowhere, a cough was heard from somewhere.
I paused for a moment, wondering if I was hallucinating, and listened again.
Then I heard someone coughing again and realized that this wasn't a hallucination.
'What is it?'
The source of the sound was beyond the door of the break room at the end of the office.
I walked briskly to the door with a face that seemed to have no idea what was going on.
Still, I knocked politely because it sounded like someone was inside, and opened the door.
"Why is the manager hiding here?"
"Ugh, ugh!"
A tone of disbelief automatically came out of my mouth.
That was understandable, because the planning manager, who should have been in the widest seat in the planning team office, was hiding in the break room.
The moment the planning manager saw my face, he must have felt a little embarrassed, and he gave a subtle gesture that said, 'Hurry up and bow first.'
I still don't know what the situation was, but I bowed inside the break room.
"Happy New Year."
"Oh my, thank you! Now, shall we go outside?"
"Excuse me.......... Manager. If you were going to go out anyway, why don't you just stay outside from the beginning?"
"Oh, I thought it would be obvious if I sat in my seat too openly."
"You thought it would be obvious."
The planning manager smiled awkwardly.
"I was hiding to give you guys a little twist. That's what makes it more fun."
"...I think it'll definitely make for an interesting picture. Who in the world would greet the New Year in the break room?"
The other employees who saw the two of us coming out of the break room suddenly became busy, just like the A&R team.
Everyone rushed out, and a ping-pong table was brought into the office from somewhere.
I turned my shoulder and said to the planning manager.
"Is it ping-pong this time?"
"Oh, you can tell right away. Did you get a lot of pocket money?"
"No. I was on my way back from a terrible loss in the bottle cap throwing game."
"Hahaha! Looks like you got beat up by the A&R team."
"Now that I think about it, I have another question."
In fact, it was a topic I had been curious about for a while.
"Isn't our own content uploaded to YouTube? Is it okay for our regular employees' faces to be shown?"
"I told them everything before filming today. I said we're going to film something, so only those who are okay with appearing in it should appear. I've already gotten prior consent, so don't worry."
"That means, manager is okay with appearing in the video too.........?"
The planning manager nodded several times in response to my question.
I wondered why.
"Whenever Changmin-ssi occasionally appears, the fans' reactions are really good. I was a little jealous."
"Isn't it because hyung is too greedy for screen time?"
"Haha, anyway, I wanted to appear at least once for fun."
There are many people with very unique personalities at Sigma Entertainment.
Is this the level that they need to be able to continue to produce new content?
The table tennis game for the planning manager's New Year's money is ready. I held the table tennis paddle and moved my arms a few times.
I don't remember if I've ever played table tennis before.
I know how the game goes, but it's still unknown whether I'll be able to win against the planning manager.
One piece of good news is that a game that uses your body, not luck, has finally come out.
'If I just get used to it a little, my body will follow suit.'
The planning manager suggested that I try a few practice rallies.
I watched the ball lightly coming over me and swung the paddle with moderate strength.
As expected, since it was my first time, the ball ended up in the net.
"You don't seem to have played table tennis before?"
"Yes, this is my first time."
"Haha, then should I go easy on you?"
The planning manager smiled broadly as he leisurely received the ball.
It is often said that he is lenient with beginners, but hearing it directly made me feel competitive.
I kept my mouth shut and smiled back.
"No. You can do it the way you always did."
Of course, you will give up a few points at first.
I shouldn't waver here.
I should immediately learn how to hit the ping pong ball and approach the game with the intention of turning the tables.
"It's a total of 7 points. Do you want to serve first?"
The first serve came to me.
Let's just hit the ball over the net.
I lightly threw the white ball upward and swung the paddle lightly with a cheerful sound.
The effect of the practice rally was immediately apparent, as my serve barely crossed the net and fell into the planning manager's camp.
"First, we need to do a few rallies."
The planning manager was definitely relaxed.
Judging from the fact that he was flicking the ping-pong ball with minimal movement, he must have played ping-pong quite a bit as a hobby.
The A&R team member and the planning manager both seemed to have brought their own specialty.
I focused my mind and hit the ball with the sole thought of getting it over the net.
It was too early to do complicated techniques or powerful smashes.
Right now, the top priority was to get used to the feel.
When I sent the ball high, the planning manager said he would show me a new technique and sent the ball with spin.
Naturally, I was not used to unconventional attacks, so I ended up making a mistake.
'So this is how you do it when you just pass it. I can get a general feel for it.'
As expected, the Crown Prince's body was innate.
His excellent reaction speed and learning ability explain why the Crown Prince is presented as the only opponent of the Demon King's army in
With this body like that, I was able to gain an absolute advantage in games that use my body.
I think I can do well in sports like table tennis, which I have never actually played, if I just give myself time to get used to it.
When I receive the ball, I have to be gentle so that there are no dull movements.
I have to keep my center of gravity in the middle and check the movement of the ball until the very end.
I have to make decisions as quickly as possible, even imagining unconventional attacks like just now.
As a beginner, I have no choice but to prioritize defense.
Because if the rally gets longer, I can induce the opponent to make a chance mistake.
The score gap kept widening by 2, 3 points.
But I wasn't in a hurry at all.
On the contrary, when I silently received the ball without being shaken, the planning manager turned his head slightly and made a strange expression.
'I don't know what he believes in and how he doesn't show any regret.'
And right then, the mistake I had been hoping for happened.
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