The Regressor's Ice Is Golden - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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001.

What does it mean to live nearly thirty years old, bouncing between one temporary job and another?
Some might ask, “How can such a foolish person even exist?”
To that, I had an answer ready.
Life isn’t something you can simply choose not to live just because you don’t want to.
“Haven’t you finished wiping down the griddle yet?!”
“Almost done.”
I gritted my teeth and scrubbed hard with the steel scourer.
After rinsing the last sheet pan and stacking it away, I got to my feet.
A sharp pain shot through my right knee.
“Ugh.”
I grabbed my knee and bit down on my lip.
The acrid smell of spiced offal grease was making my head spin.
“Stop staring and go wipe the water, set up the tables.”
“Yes.”
There was still plenty of time before closing, and we had reservations tonight.
I couldn’t fathom why anyone would hold a reunion at this cramped little offal restaurant—until I realized my old classmates were the ones doing it.
I only found out when the owner started bragging about the reservation, pretending he’d known all along.
‘Sigh.’
Sweat trickled steadily down the back of my neck.
The reserved dishes had been set up long ago.
I retied my hair and pulled on fresh gloves.
As soon as the bell chimed and the door opened, a cacophony of voices tumbled in.
“Welcome.”
“Wow, it really has been forever since we’ve been here.”
“Ha-bin! Come sit over here.”
“This kid’s grown tall, hasn’t he?”
The reservation guests breezed right past the counter staff’s greeting and took their seats.
I steadied my breathing and glanced out toward the street.
“This guy’s still late after all these years.”
“He’s on his honeymoon, apparently. Let’s have a drink.”
“Oh, here he is!”
The bell chimed again and again as more people filed through the door.
Faces I recognized, or thought I did.
The small restaurant gradually filled to capacity.
And among them all, the highlight was inevitable.
The shop door opened with a crisp sweep, and one more guest stepped inside.
“You’re a bit late, aren’t you?”
“Oh, she’s here! Seo-hee!”
“Roll out the red carpet! Applause!”
A thunderous roar of welcome greeted the newcomer.
Petite frame, the elegant posture of a ballerina.
Graceful and composed.
Hair swept back in a neat cascade.
Following in Lee Yuna’s footsteps, South Korea’s next-generation Olympic gold medalist in figure skating—a title sixteen years in the making.
Cha Seo-hee broke into a radiant smile.
“I actually came here with a plan tonight. Let’s all have a good time.”
The restaurant erupted into chatter once more.
Soon another order came through.
Two steamed egg dishes,
The owner tapped me on the shoulder as he passed the order along.
“What are you waiting for? Get moving.”
“Yes, sir.”
I shifted my weight to ease the strain on my injured knee.
I lit the gas burner and whisked the egg mixture.
From the kitchen, I could only hear what was happening in the dining area by sound.
Some toast about “youth is now, youth is now” drifted back to me.
Voices I knew all too well.
Most of the people at the drinking gathering were my high school classmates.
I’d already known that the reunion would be held at the shop where I worked.
Everyone’s attention seemed to turn toward Cha Seo-hee, just as I’d expected.
“She’s still so pretty, even after all these years.”
“Who’s her husband?”
“You didn’t see the article? She married the Falcon CEO not long ago.”
“She’s got it all, doesn’t she? A gold medal and a tycoon for a husband.”
The truth was, it was hard not to know Cha Seo-hee’s recent life without even looking.
The queen of women’s singles figure skating, who’d once captured the nation’s entire attention.
Even after retirement, she appeared as a commercial model everywhere.
Unlike me, who’d retired before that time and never even came close to the Olympics.
I too had once worn short skating dresses and glided across cold ice.
My knees shattered when I was sixteen, and since then I haven’t gone to university—I live like this.
The kitchen was so hot that I found myself craving the chill of cold air all the more.
“Two steamed eggs, please.”
I carefully set down the earthenware pots.
The owner came into the kitchen and furrowed his brow.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, boss. Did a new order come in?”
“You right now, listen.”
The owner tapped the earthenware pot sharply.
“Don’t you feel like something’s missing?”
“……?”
I narrowed my eyes and examined the fluffy steamed eggs.
I’d put everything in correctly, hadn’t I?
“……The customers said they’d add the sesame oil themselves. And earlier I noticed we were short on carrots, so I’ll chop some more for next time.”
“Hmm, your eye’s still sharp at least. I thought maybe you couldn’t read the letters since you were so late replying to my text.”
……I shouldn’t have read it at all.
In the end, I came in at the crack of dawn and agreed to make seaweed soup for their parents’ birthday.
I couldn’t just ignore it since I’d only been at this part-time job for a month.
I bowed my head obediently.
“I’m sorry for being late this morning.”
“Ha Seol, you’re twenty-nine. There’s nowhere else that’ll take you. Why do you act so bratty?”
“…….”
“Or are you faking an injury to get out of work because your leg hurts?”
I was dying busy, and who knew how much more he’d complain this time.
Fortunately, a new order came in from the dining area right on schedule.
The owner tapped the pots again.
“If you’re going to act like that, just cover the front. You’re already looking old as it is.”
“……Yes. I’ll go take care of it.”
I picked up the heavy earthenware pots on a tray.
The dining area was still loud and bustling.
“Steamed eggs.”
“Hey, Ha Seol?”
And then the situation I’d dreaded most walked right in.
I shut my eyes tight.
Cha Seo-hee jumped up from her seat.
“It is Ha Seol! Do you remember us? How have you been? What are you up to these days? You haven’t given us any news in fifteen years.”
“Oh, me? Getting by, you know. Can anyone around here be doing as well as you?”
Whispers rose from every corner.
“Who is that?”
“Don’t you remember? That girl who did figure skating and was hardly ever at school? There was another one like that.”
“Oh, that one?”
“Wait. So then.”
As the atmosphere grew strange, someone suddenly asked.
“But, you’re really working here?”
“I’m working here right now.”
I carefully set down the earthenware pots.
The ones sitting at the table exchanged glances.
Someone muttered faintly.
“Hey, but honestly? I’ve always been curious how someone like her even managed to live.”
And for a brief moment, the Gopchang Restaurant fell silent.
“She pushed Cha Seo-hee into traffic back then, remember?”
The shop froze as if someone had poured ice water over it.
Her friends’ eyes darted toward her.
She could read what those glances meant.
‘Did she ever apologize?’
‘Dunno. Should we cut her some slack? It’s kind of pathetic.’
“Honestly, it’s weird that she’s alive at all.”
‘If it were me, I’d have gone to the Han River.’
Wait—was one of them actually saying that out loud?
Cold stares swept between the grease-stained apron and the sweat-dampened face.
One of them stood up.
“Hey, Ha Seol.”
“Yes, sir?”
“You didn’t even apologize back then, did you? If you had any conscience at all, you’d do it now.”
“…….”
“Never mind, never mind. With a character like that, what else would you expect? Just leave her be.”
Someone set another empty bowl on the tray.
She picked up the stack of dishes—garbage, scraps, the whole lot—and left the table.
Whether it was fortunate or not, the people seated with them had good instincts.
One of them quickly refilled someone’s glass, while another busied himself with frying rice.
“Come on, it’s a good day. Don’t worry about stupid stuff and have a drink.”
“Right? I mean, come on—someone nearly died, and all she got was a broken leg.”
“Yeah, true enough. Let’s just… keep it at that, alright? You know what I mean?”
“Hehehe.”
The mood normalized in an instant.
‘Damn rotten luck.’
The owner had vanished somewhere in that brief span.
She limped into the kitchen and started washing dishes.
She still couldn’t make sense of what happened back then.
Why it had to be us. Why it had to be me.
It was during that time when bodies were growing and adolescence was setting in.
There was a day we nearly came to blows over stress, pulling at each other’s hair.
I just didn’t know there’d be a crazed truck ignoring the crosswalk signal in broad daylight.
If I’d been a step faster, I could have saved my knees too, not just Cha Seo-hee’s life.
Back then, she was shocked, and since I’d saved a life, I vaguely thought everything would be fine.
Right up until the rumors started that I’d deliberately pushed Cha Seo-hee into the road.
By the time I came to my senses, I’d been branded a traitor.
Even after more than a decade, those internet comment sections were still vivid in her mind.
All she’d wanted to say was, ‘That’s not who I am.’
But what was the point of saying it now?
My knees were already gone.

***

Once everyone had drunk their fill, the shop settled into a quiet rhythm.
For once, she had a moment to step outside for fresh air.
The bell chimed as someone else came out.
“Oh, you smoke?”
“Just getting some air.”
She snorted and let out a sigh.
White breath scattered into the winter night.
“What’s on your mind?”
“Nothing, really. It’s just…”
Cha Seo-hee laughed awkwardly.
“So much time has passed. It took me forever to find you, and I have so much I want to say, but…….”
“Hey, wait.”
She furrowed her brow.
“Don’t tell me you did that on purpose…….”
“Ha ha, I’m actually not great with gopchang, so I pushed to come here. The owner’s been good to us, right? I’ll sign something before we leave.”
“It’s fine, never mind. The owner will be delighted.”
“Don’t be like that. You were amazing back then too.”
So that’s why she’d come alone.
Had the other people at the table gotten drunk and decided to mock her?
“What?”
“At the Junior Grand Prix! Honestly, people probably still watch that competition footage, right? That Tango Dress looked absolutely stunning on you!”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Honestly, you could’ve made it all the way to the World Championships with me—”
“Cha Seo-hee.”
My voice came out sharp and cutting.
Her eyes wavered, the smile dissolving.
Seeing her like that just made me angrier.
Back then, sitting collapsed on the road, screaming “This is all your fault!”
“Don’t make a fuss. I didn’t make it, and that’s that.”
“…But still.”
“Honestly, the fact that you did better after that is the truth.”
I sighed and wrung my oil-stained apron in my hands.
Did she have no sense at all, then or now?
“I don’t think what happened back then was your fault. But it’s a shame, you know? I never imagined you’d just… stop like that.”
“I, back then I—”
Cha Seo-hee gripped the handles of her luxury handbag.
“What are you saying you regret now? Really.”
She’d basked in national affection and support, pushed her technique to its peak during Olympic season, and took home the gold medal.
Unlike her—the woman who’d stolen my knees and my life—I’d never made it to university and had spent all these years drifting from one part-time job to another.
“People keep saying I should close up. The shop needs to shut down.”
“Wait, Ha Seol.”
I had nothing more to hear and nothing but irritation left in me.
So I never noticed the car hurtling toward the restaurant from across the street.
“Hey, wait—!”
Crash, bang—!
Before my scream even faded, a massive chunk of metal slammed into my entire body.
The moment I crumpled to the pavement, terrible pain flooded through me.
Something hot ran down my face.
I’d thought once, before, that I wanted to die, but I took that back now.
I just hadn’t wanted to live like this.
‘If I could live again, I’d do better.’
Before I could think another thought, my eyes closed completely.

***

Beep! Beep beep beep! Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep….
Ha Seol furrowed her brow and turned over.
I’m exhausted—I should’ve turned off the alarm earlier… wait.
‘Why doesn’t it hurt?’
I couldn’t smell the disinfectant that always hung in the Hospital Emergency Room, nor the unfamiliar scent of that place.
Then where was I?
Ha Seol pushed herself up slowly.
“Huh?”
The scene before my eyes was terribly familiar.
Pale window frames flooded with gentle morning light.
The corner of wallpaper stained and mottled with mold marks, and a school uniform carelessly draped over a hook.
In a small shelf, neatly arranged—Medals and Trophies I’d definitely thrown away ages ago.
It was the room I’d lived in fifteen years ago, when I was a middle schooler.
Ha Seol rose slowly and stood before the mirror.
A girl with short cropped hair stared back at me.
Her expression one of pure disbelief.
Now that I thought about it, my old injured leg didn’t hurt either.
In the moment I turned back to stare dumbfounded at the mirror again. Ding—.
[Congratulations!]
[You have been selected as a Regressor due to the Echo of Destiny calling out within you. We hope you will navigate your Second Life successfully. Fighting!]
A blue window suddenly appeared in midair.
The Regressor’s Frozen Rink: Book 1
E-book Publication Date | 2026.06.05

Author | Corcarolli
Publisher | Heo Heung-beom, Park Geon-won
Published by | Potent

Address | [04783] 10th Floor, 8 Yeonmujang 11-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul
Phone | 02-6320-8500
Fax | 02-6320-8585

UCI | G720:N+A101-20260514092.0001
List Price | Not for Sale

ⓒ Corcarolli 2026

This e-book is a work protected under copyright law.
This e-book has been published under contract with the author, and unauthorized reproduction, duplication, distribution, or sharing without the written consent of both parties is prohibited.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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