The Regressor's Ice Is Golden - Chapter 16

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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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016.

‘What was that about?’
Why had he written down his number before leaving?
Well, I suppose there’s a reasonable explanation.
Watching the coaches get along so well, it seemed likely we’d be sharing Ice Rink Rental time together going forward.
He’d lent me Athletic Tape too, so perhaps he was thinking we might become closer in the future.
Training alongside a senior who’d already been to the Olympics—that’s nothing but good for me.
And besides, he hadn’t asked for anything in return; he gave freely before he left.
He’s not someone known for causing trouble, so it should be fine.
‘Though it is a bit surprising he handed it to me directly instead of going through the coach.’
I set down the notebook and Heat Pack for a moment, rolling my ankle.
The pain had eased a little.
I moved to the spectator seating and looked down at the ice.
Choi Ji-hwan had already taken his starting position in the center of the rink.
Soon the grand swell of an orchestral piece filled the air.
A slightly different arrangement from mine—different instrumentation too.
Instead of violin, it was cello and baritone vocals leading.
Whissh—Choi Ji-hwan cut across the ice.
‘Wow, his speed is incredible.’
At one point his body twisted sharply in place.
Tap-tap—his left toe pick struck the ice in a sudden backward extension.
Choi Ji-hwan’s body lifted into the air, spinning—or rather, flying would be the better word.
Incomparably faster than a Triple.
A Quadruple Toe Loop.
But in that instant his body tilted, and he crashed to the ice.
Thud!
Choi Ji-hwan pushed himself up and accelerated again.
He still had more jumps to land.
Another Quad, for instance.
He carved into the ice once more and launched.
The Quadruple Salchow landed cleanly.
‘Wow.’
If that had been competition, he would’ve racked up some serious bonus points.
The next jumps were the same as mine.
Triple Lutz, Triple Loop.
I watched his jumps in a daze.
Wide distance, impressive height.
Seen from someone else’s perspective, they were audaciously beautiful jumps.
‘And I land those too.’
Of course, they wouldn’t be identical.
There were physical differences, differences in experience.
But jumping wasn’t everything.
Choi Ji-hwan’s performance had something captivating about it.
Just as we’d crafted our own story, he had his own way of expressing himself.
Most of all, you could see he was riding the music.
His skating technique itself was excellent.
He tilted his blade with absolute confidence right up until its edge kissed the ice.
You could feel the refinement of his balance and his assurance with Edge Control.
Soon the program moved into its final passages, and Choi Ji-hwan launched another jump.
First, a Triple Flip.
From that position, if you pivot your body sharply, you can switch feet for the next landing.
A connecting jump called a Single Euler, or a Half Loop.
Then a Triple Salchow connected after the Single Euler.
‘I’d been thinking about that same combination.’
It’s not that I can’t land Salchows, but Eulers are surprisingly hard to execute elegantly.
The program had already reached the final Choreography Sequence.
There was something particular Choi Ji-hwan always did at this moment.
One leg raised high, torso bent, both arms stretched wide like wings.
Among male skaters, few attempted it—a non-jumping element that was almost his signature move.
The regulations changed after Lee Yu-na won her first Olympic gold medal, and it had nearly disappeared.
A Spiral that swept across the ice in a wide arc.
It wasn’t long enough to be classified as a Sequence like in the old days, but the trajectory was quite expansive.
After the lengthy glide came the finishing touches: a spinning Twizzle and Combination Spin.
Another rendition of Turandot played.

***

“Wow, today was so great, wasn’t it? Getting the ice rental for half price……!”
“Ha ha, absolutely.”
It was eleven p.m.—the ice rental time had run out.
The two coaches shook hands, smiling with satisfaction.
“By the way, do you happen to know anyone else in your circle? If there are more kids who want to train together, we could split the rental costs, and let the kids build bonds too.”
“How about we check with someone from our club’s staff? We have a Senior and a Junior, so what do you say about one of the coaches who works with Novice skaters?”
Laughter erupted again.
I watched them with a lukewarm smile.
‘If you’re going to do this, you might as well pick someone from the Senior division.’
Why discourage some innocent elementary school kid?
It would be more practical for us to join a club instead.
There were various reasons we weren’t doing that, but still.
After the conversation ended, we each headed to where we’d parked.
Choi Ji-hwan hardly said anything until the very end.
He only gave a polite bow, just like when we first met.
“Well then, drive safely~!”
Two cars pulled out of the Ice Rink building.
I gazed blankly out the window.
Regardless of anything else today.
[010-XXXX-XXXX]
The number he’d given me.
He must have written it so I’d contact him, but I wasn’t sure what to say.
Still, there was no rush.
‘Let me just get home first.’
There would be time to think about it later.
As soon as I got back, I unpacked my things and took a shower.
I saved the number to my phone and sent a message.
[Hello, I’m Kim Ha-seol—we trained together during the ice rental today. Did you get home safely?]
After sending it, I finished drying my hair.
A reply came back right on schedule.
[Choi Ji-hwan: Yes, I made it home. Thank you for lending me the Athletic Tape today. I was able to practice well because of it.]
[You’re welcome. Since you’re older than me, feel free to speak comfortably.]
[Choi Ji-hwan: Ah, sure. I’ll ease up gradually.]
I crawled into bed and read the message.
So, after Cha Jin-hee, I’d made a second connection in the figure skating world.
What could we accomplish together with this male skater—South Korea’s future first four-time Olympian and medalist?
For one, training together meant the ice rental cost was cut in half.
Since he was one of the few skaters who attempted the same Quadruple Toe Loop, he made an excellent reference point for comparison.
More than anything, he was strikingly handsome.
And why was that a good thing?
‘Because it meant lots of advertising and broadcast appearance offers would come in.’
Before the regression, his looks had only matured beautifully into his late twenties.
Despite the emergence of countless promising prospects, he’d managed to keep the “Prince” nickname throughout.
After retirement, he’d even switched to acting.
If someone like that had a close friend who was also a skater,
I could tag along and possibly join him for those appearances.
Preferably advertising deals.
Those paid better, or so I’d heard.
‘It’d be perfect if no dating rumors came out.’
That wasn’t something I could control, so I wouldn’t worry about it for now.
Later, once we got closer, maybe I could spin something like Team Korea’s real-life on-screen siblings or whatever.
Just then, another message came through.
[Choi Ji-hwan: By the way, I noticed you were pretty hard on your boots during that Lutz earlier.]
‘Hmm?’
[Choi Ji-hwan: That’s part of why I’m struggling right now. I’m telling you because I’m concerned.]
I fell silent for a moment, thinking.
It was true that I tended to flex deeper than average on entry, but…
‘Is it really that bad?’
My boot collar had never completely given out, at least not yet.
If anything had gone wrong, it would’ve been with the blade or boot sizing.
Maybe my weight hadn’t increased enough.
[I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you for your concern, senior.]
[Choi Ji-hwan: Sure. Sleep well, junior.]
[You too!]
And that was the end of the conversation.
I plugged my phone into the charger and closed my eyes.
Everything was going smoothly.
So far.
I’d managed to get through the growth pains and even that hyperventilation penalty from before, so let’s call it even.
‘But why do I feel so uneasy?’
It was as though I’d forgotten something important.
Something I didn’t want to forget, something I’d never wanted to forget, something I couldn’t afford to lose.
It wasn’t like some anime where a comet falls and people are screaming each other’s names.
Ding!
Someone had sent me a message.
‘What now?’
Among my contacts at this hour, was there really anyone foolish enough to text after midnight?
I frowned and unlocked my phone.
The sender was unexpected.
[Park Ji-ho, 2nd Year: Hey, about your costume]
[Park Ji-ho, 2nd Year: Did you finish making it?]
Let me correct myself.
He hadn’t brought me a bowl of noodles for my head—he’d brought me a lifeline.
I typed out a response as quickly as I could.
[The coach is looking for a used costume right now and hasn’t found one yet.]
[Park Ji-ho, 2nd Year: What? You’re buying a ready-made costume instead of making one?]
Sadly, yes.
For the record, back when I was competing at the Novice level, I’d chosen programs to match ready-made costumes.
Before my return, I’d only worn a custom costume once, and that was right before retirement.
‘Matching those up costs money too!’
[Why are you asking?]
[Park Ji-ho, 2nd Year: Look, I’m going to offer you a sincere apology.]
Now what was this about?
[For what?]
[Park Ji-ho, 2nd Year: Apparently, your name got a bit… out there.]
Unbelievable.
Here’s what happened.
Apparently, when Park Ji-ho’s mother met with investors, she’d mentioned that his friend did figure skating.
That much was fine.
After all, they work in sports fashion.
But then the part about Park Ji-ho using his father’s sewing machine got added to the story.
I have no idea what exactly was said in that conversation, but the end result was that the investors came to this understanding:
That I was the one making the costume for him.
Though recently he’d shot a ton of product photos for the online shop, so they might’ve been shown those.
‘I probably would’ve misunderstood too.’
[Park Ji-ho, 2nd Year: Anyway, that’s how it happened. Sorry for telling you so late, but…]
I had to hear the rest of this.
I sighed and picked up my phone again.
[Thanks for telling me, even if it’s late. So what happens now?]
[Park Ji-ho, 2nd Year: You don’t have to pay for the costume. It’s our mistake that things got this mixed up.]
Wait?
Something about the context felt off.
If he was saying he didn’t need to be paid for the costume, that meant he’d still make one worth paying for, didn’t it?
[Wait—you’re actually going to make it for me?]
[Park Ji-ho, Second Year: Better if I can, right? What, you don’t trust my skills? ㅋㅋㅋ I can work a sewing machine, you know.]
Hmm.
I found myself thinking.
There was something I’d learned recently through chatting with Cha Jin-hee.
[Cha Jin-hee: Ji-ho’s mom started a business. Sports apparel, I think? I’m not really sure.]
I’d asked him about it directly during lunch.
‘My mom? Oh, there’s “Hooks” on that corner intersection. Want to stop by sometime?’
I was almost amazed at my own memory for forgetting this.
By the standards of my memory before the regression, it’s a company that had grown into a sports apparel brand comparable to Adidas within South Korea.
Its trademark is a logo shaped like a hawk diving down sharply and decisively.
If the brand I remembered was indeed the business Park Ji-ho’s mother ran?
‘I have to grab this opportunity.’
I quickly typed out a message.
[I’d really appreciate that. Let me talk it over with the coach.]
[Though figure skating costumes are probably pretty different from regular clothing. They need a lot of stretch, and they’ve got sequins and crystals all over them.]
[Park Ji-ho, Second Year: Oh yeah? Doesn’t swimwear count? I’ve made rash guards before.]
Okay, he passed the test.
It’s a bit of a gamble, honestly, but the materials are similar enough—he’d pull it off fine.
[So should I tell you what music I’m using?]
[Park Ji-ho, Second Year: Yeah. I’ll sketch out some designs and send them to you, so just let me know if there’s anything to change. Though I doubt there will be ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Cool. I’ll let the coach know.]
I shared the music files and song details with him, then turned off my phone.
Allegro Tangabile for the tango piece, and Turandot for the Chinese Opera program.
A vision of designs saturated in red was already dancing in my mind.
I was genuinely grateful.
Even ready-made costumes bought online cost at least a hundred thousand won, and he was making a custom one for me.
Especially this season, I’d been worried I’d actually have to buy something cheap off the internet because money was tight.
‘Well, a good thing is a good thing.’
Even if it came about because he’d said something unnecessary.
I set down my phone and pulled the blanket up to my chin.
My mind was buzzing; sleep wouldn’t come.
And the next day, Cha Jin-hee came to find me right after arriving at school.
“Your coach—I need to tell her something urgent.”
“……?”
The Regression Skater’s Golden Ice — Episode 16
E-book publication date | 2026.06.05

Author | Corcoroli
Publishers | Heo Heung-beom, Park Geon-won
Published by | Potent

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

UCI | G720:N+A101-20260514092.0016
List price | Non-commercial

ⓒ Corcoroli 2026

This e-book is protected by copyright law.
This e-book is published under contract with the author and may not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or republished in any form without the written consent of both parties.

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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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