The Regressor's Ice Is Golden - Chapter 38

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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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038.

“Congratulations!”
I smiled faintly and lifted the gold medal.
First place, no trouble at all.
My legs were aching a bit, so I’d scaled back the difficulty of my routine, but thankfully the score came through just fine.
While the photo shoot was underway, I rolled my skated feet experimentally.
Once it was done, the coach handed me my blade shoes right away.
“Legs hurting much?”
“I can walk.”
“Take it easy. Let’s get you changed. Oh, and—”
The coach chuckled softly.
“Someone’s waiting for you.”
“Pardon?”
My circle of acquaintances couldn’t have been that wide at that point in time.
Even at school, I’d made a genuine effort to build friendships exactly once.
So I didn’t realize who they were until I stepped outside the ice rink.

“Wow, she’s here……!”
“Ha-seol?”
A few complete strangers were waiting for me outside the rink.
All three were women, though their ages ranged quite a bit.
One of them—a young mother carrying a sleeping child—handed me a bouquet.
“Congratulations on winning. We’re fans of yours.”
“Really?”
I stood there stupidly for a moment, looking at each of them in turn.
A college student in a university jacket spoke up, her face flushed.
“Your program this season is amazing, and I’ve been a fan since that Short Program in Thailand……? I wanted to come congratulate you on winning today, and also……!”
“Ah~.”
I smiled awkwardly and stared at her face intently.
The college student jumped back in surprise but couldn’t tear her eyes away.
“But you seem older than me—why are you speaking so formally……?”
“Oh, they told me you’d be startled if I just walked up casually and spoke informally. Can I drop the formal speech now?”
“Yes.”
We talked for a while—nothing too long, but it was pleasant.
From how a young mother, a college student, and a freelancer had somehow gathered to watch me, to the reasons I’d scaled back my routine difficulty.
And a little something that resembled fan service.
“Hey, Ha-seol. Could you sign something for us?”
“Of course.”
I was about to put my finger to the phone’s notes app they handed me when I hesitated.
I felt too shy to just scribble my usual careless autograph.
“Hmm?”
“Would it be all right if I wrote it in proper handwriting instead? I haven’t made an official signature yet.”
“Oh! Sure! Whatever feels natural.”
So I scrawled my name into each person’s phone notes one by one, and then we parted ways.
I watched them recede into the distance, feeling something strange wash over me.
Not that it’s weird for athletes to have fans, and figure skating fans can exist just fine.
But being the one they were cheering for…….
“So, what’s your impression now that you’ve met your fans?”
“……It feels strange.”
“Ha ha, that’s only natural.”
Coach Park, who’d been quiet until now, linked arms with me and pulled the suitcase along.
“The Azerbaijan competition just finished. I’ll drive, so you keep an eye on the monitor.”
After loading the suitcase into the back seat, I settled into the passenger side.
The Free Skating footage had just been uploaded to YouTube, perfectly timed.
[Triple Axel Debut! Cha Seo-hui]
The thumbnail title was still poorly done, but regardless.
Cha Seo-hui’s Azerbaijan result was a silver medal.

***

The competitor herself played back the footage with obvious reluctance.
It was an assignment her coach had given her.
Watching your own competition performance again and looking for things to improve.
Total score: 188.34.
Thanks to a solid execution of the Triple Axel, her opening jump, the rest of the program had gone smoothly.
[Now, and here’s another crucial jump. Triple Lutz. Triple Toe Loop. She managed both well.]
The Toe Loop afterward didn’t lack rotations, but the landing was rough, which cost her some points in bonus marks.
[The Choreography Sequence that follows. Nice to see her performing it with bright, engaging expression work.]
Overall, it had come together nicely.
Thanks to that, Cha Seo-hui had held first place for quite some time.
Until that other skater took the ice.
[Now, the first jump.]
Whoosh—! The skater’s blade glides across the ice, pushing off to launch her body into the air.
And the landing.
[Quadruple Salchow! Yes, successful.]
[She performed the most difficult element as her opening very cleanly.]
Amasaki Rika.
A Japanese skater who’d taken the gold medal at this competition, wielding the Quadruple Salchow in Free Skating as her weapon.
With that powerful weapon, she’d surpassed Cha Seo-hui’s score even after missing one level on two of her non-jumping elements.
So the national anthem wasn’t played at the medal ceremony, but a silver medal was still a silver medal, and the coverage reflected that.
[TK Cha Yong-jin’s Daughter, Junior Grand Prix Stage 3 Silver Medal]
Kim Ha-seol’s total score at the Thailand competition was 187.60.
The bet she’d proposed on her own had been won after all.
And yet Cha Seo-hui found she couldn’t smile.
That glittering gold medal flooding the news feed wouldn’t fade from her mind.
When she searched online, there were more articles about Kim Ha-seol’s gold medal than about her own silver.
The text messages from her schoolmates amounted to just a handful of what felt like obligatory congratulations.
It seemed the world was simply happier about that girl’s victory.
Feeling hollow, Cha Seo-hui had come out for water.
The twin sisters’ room was shut tight.
Come to think of it, Cha Jin-hui had made the short program choreography for that girl.
She remembered seeing their mother get irritated and sigh when she found out about it.
“…….”
Having finished her coach’s assignment, Cha Seo-hui fell asleep feeling unsettled.
Soon came time for the settlement.

Inside a chain cafe on Saturday morning.
“So, here’s the thing.”
Kim Ha-seol set the gold medal on the table without ceremony.
“I lost, so from now on you can just treat me as a friend.”
That attitude was really something.
It was just like pressing an ice cream into the hand of a child who’d worn themselves out crying and whining, telling them to stop their fussing.
Cha Seo-hui nearly crumpled her face, then took a sip of her strawberry latte instead.
“Aren’t you frustrated?”
“About what? I haven’t lost anything.”
Kim Ha-seol shrugged and gestured toward the gold medal with a glance.
That glimmering gold, so obliviously radiant, was utterly infuriating.
So Cha Seo-hui had no choice but to acknowledge it.
This wasn’t really a game she’d won.
“Well, I’m late in saying so, but congratulations on your silver medal…….”
“You too. Congratulations on your victory.”
Kim Ha-seol drained her Ade in one go and studied Cha Seo-hui quietly.
That air of finding everything in the world tiresome was genuinely hard to bear.
“You don’t seem satisfied yet. Something bothering you?”
“……It just doesn’t feel right.”
“What doesn’t.”
Cha Seo-hui clenched her fists.
“It doesn’t feel real. You get gold, I get silver. Everyone at school seems to think more of you too.”
“…….”
Kim Ha-seol cursed silently, but Cha Seo-hui’s words, fueled by groundless grievance, showed no sign of stopping.
“In the end, you only remember the gold medal.”
“What does it matter? Either way, you won. Do you think a score in the high 180s grows on trees?”
“That’s not the problem……! Honestly, I think I chose wrong. We should’ve competed in the same tournament, same event, head to head.”
That brief, emphatic declaration fell between them like a blade.
“Let’s meet again in Nagoya. This won’t do.”
Cha Seo-hui set down her empty cup and fled the cafe.
The confusion was unbearable.
Kim Ha-seol treating her like an ant passing by, the world caring only about the gold medal.
Kim Ha-seol, too, let out a long sigh and slouched against the back of her chair.
“Is she insane, or…….”
What was it about teenage girls that made them so extreme?
It was especially hopeless when the perfect comparison happened to be bound as sisters.
I’m sure I lived through those years myself, but I really don’t understand it.
Anyway.
‘I still have work to do.’
I sipped the last of my Ade and pulled up my status window.

[Kim Ha-seol]
Age: 13 years old (Born February 27)
Height: 163cm
Weight: 48kg
Secondary Sexual Characteristics Progression: 39%

Strength: B+
Stamina: B+
Flexibility: B+
Precision: B+
Artistry: A

[Biological Metronome] (D/Active)
[Grasping Movement] (D/Active)

Special Notes: Regresser, Unwavering Determination
!Status Abnormality! Body Shape Changes from Secondary Sexual Characteristics
[Points: 0]
I’d finally managed to get all my stats to B+ or higher.
Until now I’d been busy patching up what kept eroding with points, but finally.
The dopamine from two consecutive gold medals must have helped, regardless.
Or maybe I’d gained enough confidence for it to show.
But reaching this state brings one problem.
‘Why does my foot hurt?’
Of course, there’d been no problem during competition, so it could just be in my head.
It might’ve just been growing pains.
I returned my empty cup and drifted out of the cafe.
While getting some air, a message came through.
Now that I thought about it, it was nearly time to head to practice.
[Cha Jin-hui: You’re renting ice time today, right? Come by. I have something to show you.]
What……?

When I arrived at the Ice Rink, other skaters were already in the middle of their practice, and the coach was already there waiting.
And Cha Jin-hui was there too.
In those black tights and skates on her feet.
“You have something to show me?”
“Yeah, just watch for yourself.”
The coach took the apple pad and retrieved Cha Jin-hui’s blade shoes.
Cha Jin-hui glided to the center of the ice and took position.
Not Tangueville, not Turandot—a completely different opening pose.
And from the apple pad came a soft, familiar acoustic guitar sound and the quiet voice of a middle-aged male actor singing.
Cha Jin-hui’s skating wasn’t particularly fast.
But it seemed she had the entire rink in mind, tracing a path across its full expanse.
Her arms drew wide, unhurried circles as she glided, while her feet drifted in gentle, rounded curves across the ice like a leisurely walk.
There weren’t many jumps.
Just one Salchow and one Flip.
But the Layback Spin had numerous rotations and sustained itself for a long time.
It wasn’t as fluid or intricate as a professional’s would be, yet you could discern what she was trying to express.
In other words—a flower bud, perhaps.
I’d never actually seen one bloom, but that’s what it felt like.
As the music ended and Cha Jin-hui struck her final pose, she smiled a little sheepishly.
Only then did I understand what I was about to receive.
“…A Gala Show?”
“Correct.”
Good heavens.
When on earth did she put this together?
And she’s even done an arrangement of it.
I knew she was studying audio production software, but I had no idea she’d reached the level of making something like this already.
“Well, I mean—ahem. It didn’t take that long, really. Spent about two hours on land listening to the original, then choreographed to the arranged version for the first time just now.”
“Why do you talk about it like you just found it lying around?”
What was it about teenage girls that made them swing between such extremes?
Cha Jin-hui, leaning against the barrier, watched me with barely contained excitement.
I chuckled and nodded.
“Thanks. It’s beautiful.”
“Right? I was startled by it myself, honestly.”
The coach, joking around, opened an ion drink for me.
“Anyway, so today we’ll learn that choreography and then work on your steps and spins.”
“Yes.”
Cha Jin-hui drained the can in one gulp, then immediately began teaching me the choreography.
“Start like this. One, two, three, two two three. And, no—don’t throw your hands out so stiffly. Flow from your elbows to your wrists to your fingers.”
“Okay, got it.”
We were less than halfway through the choreography when it happened.
“And a Stag Jump!”
“Hup!”
I launched into the air, then immediately stretched my legs to land.
The moment my skate blade touched the ice, my legs gave out completely!
“Oh!”
By the time my senses returned, I’d already crashed down with a tremendous clatter.
I breathed heavily, staring at the ice scattered with frost.
It felt strange, seeing it up close like this.
“Hey, Kim Ha-seol!”
Cha Jin-hui shrieked sharply and hurried over.
The Regresser’s Ice Rink – Chapter 38
E-book Publication Date | June 5, 2026

Author | Corcaroli
Publisher | Heo Heung-beom, Park Geon-won
Publishing House | Potent

Address | [04783] 9th Floor, 11 Yeonmujiang-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul
Phone | 02-6320-8500
Fax | 02-6320-8585

UCI | G720:N+A101-20260514092.0038
List Price | 100 won

ⓒ Corcaroli 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, or shared in whole or in part without written consent from 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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