The Regressor's Ice Is Golden - Chapter 41

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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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041.

Fortunately, Chizeru was willing to tell me what I wanted to know.
[I’ve been there before! We held a rental lesson at our club.]
[That’s a relief! What kind of place is it? The ice quality, the facilities, that sort of thing.]
[Even though I’ve only been to that rink twice, it would still be useful?]
[It could be helpful for someone who’s never been there at all.]
“Ah.”
Chizeru laughed and launched into a detailed account of the venue.
The Gaishi Arena, annexed to the Nagoya General Gymnasium.
It serves as a swimming pool in summer and an ice rink in winter, hosting numerous international competitions.
Above all, it’s a major rink where the NHK Trophy, one of the senior Grand Prix events, has been held year after year.
Though apparently it’s been quite some time since a Junior Grand Prix was held there as well.
[The first thing that surprised me was how incredibly high the ceiling is. The sound echoes so much when you’re talking.]
[Oh, I see.]
So the acoustics could be problematic during the competition, making it hard to hear properly.
Keeping time with the music might be difficult.
Of course, they’d do equipment checks before hosting an international event, but I’m not sure how thorough the Japan Ice Skating Association is about these things.
[And?]
[The spectator seating is pretty high up, so it feels far away. The ice is a bit softer than usual.]
Now that’s useful information.
The rink where I normally train has quite firm ice.
I’ll need to be careful with my power control, and if necessary, I might have to stick with the Loop Connection as it is.
As for the sore foot… I’ll just have to manage.
I swallowed the rice and nodded.
“Arigatou gozaimasu.”
It was just a simple thanks, but why was she grinning like that?
Chizeru spoke with her mother for a moment.
The way she trailed off suggested something was on her mind.
[What’s wrong?]
[Sorry. I feel like I’ve been talking too much about myself.]
[No, it’s fine. I’m the one who asked. It’s actually been really helpful.]
[Oh, and since we’re the same age in terms of skating years, you can speak casually with me.]
[Really? Then I’ll drop the formality from now on.]
It was getting tedious using the translation app anyway, so this worked out well.
But what Chizeru had to tell me didn’t end there.
[So just one more thing. When our club went for a rental practice session, there was fog inside the rink.]
…Fog inside the rink?
[When?]
[Well, it was when summer break started. August. At first, even after the ice resurfacing was done, the ice quality seemed strange,]
I stabbed my chopsticks down into the pile of rice.
[but when I looked closer, it was actually fog. Thick enough that your ankles were completely hidden.]
[Really? That’s strange.]
I fell into thought for a moment.
In August, with weather that hot, it would be entirely plausible for an ice rink.
Hot, humid outside air meets the rink’s air conditioning, causing water vapor in the air to condense.
‘When it settles onto the ice, it looks like fog.’
It’s the same principle as how iced coffee sweats more in summer than in winter.
[But if that happens, the ice would be very damp.]
[Right. I was fine, but a lot of the other kids fell.]
There’s a good chance the same thing could happen during our competition.
The area is close to the sea, so humid air would flow in easily.
The temperature difference between the ice surface and the spectators’ body heat could also create the conditions.
[That’s all I can tell you. Our club doesn’t normally practice there.]
[That was really helpful. Would it be okay to visit after the competition?]
[Of course! I’ve already mentioned it to the club instructors, so it should be fine.]
[I’ll visit after the Short Program.]
[Sounds good!]
After dinner, we exchanged gifts.
Chizeru had given her a pretty hair ribbon.
[I thought it would look nice when you do your Free Skating, so I bought it.]
[Thank you. I got this one from a photo shoot location. Park Ji-ho’s mother made it. It’s light and warm.]
[Wow!]
Park Ji-ho’s mother seemed quite skilled at making clothes.
Whether her streetwear aesthetic would work here was another question, but given how cold the training facility was, she figured it would help.
“See you next time!”
“Thank you very much~”
The moment the front door closed, Coach sighed heavily.
“Ugh, my fingers hurt. Next time, speak to me in Japanese as your second language.”
“You’ll just tell me to learn Mandarin when I compete in China, won’t you?”
“Fair point.”
On SNS they’d only messaged in English, so it hadn’t mattered, but having an actual conversation in Japanese after so long had completely drained her.
“So go on—tell me everything they said.”
“Well, you see.”
After hearing her spill out all the details, Coach fell into thought for the rest of the drive.
“So we’ll need to find a compromise in the composition. You’re in decent shape otherwise, so we can push the combination jumps toward the second half. Then with a Toe Loop Connection, we can still cover some of the base value.”
“Let’s see how the ice is on the day. Either way, we already submitted the reduced composition.”
“Well, you never know until right before the competition anyway. If you can place around fifth, you’ve got a real shot at making the Final.”
“Yeah, I suppose. But…”
She trailed off and drew a deep breath.
From somewhere nearby, a faint, salty-savory smell drifted into her nostrils.
“It’s hard to push when you’ve been given a gift like a hair ribbon, you know?”
“Hm.”
“We’ll see.”
She tried on the hair ribbon Chizeru had given her.
Sequins glimmered in the reflection of her phone’s screen.

***

The draw and athletes’ oath ceremony began quite early in the morning.
As always, the draw started with Group 1.
Each group consisted of five or six skaters arranged in reverse order of world rankings.
She was in Group 4.
The gold medal she’d won at the JGP Thailand had earned her quite a few ranking points.
‘Group 4 already.’
It felt like the qualifying round had been just yesterday.
In other words.
“Ugh, why of all things.”
The girl whining beside her was no exception.
She let Cha Seo-hui’s complaints wash over her, her gaze steady ahead.
Group 3 was being drawn at the moment.
‘Go ahead and whine all you want.’
She wanted to do the same.
Ice Resurfacing happened after every two groups skated.
Once after Group 2, once after Group 4.
Which meant skaters in even-numbered groups inevitably had to compete on a surface already torn up by the previous group.
‘What can you do.’
She wasn’t about to voluntarily drop to Group 3, nor would she move to an earlier group—so she’d just have to deal with it.
By the time her mind had wandered, the Group 3 draw was finished.
An announcement in Japanese was made, and names were called in hiragana order.
“Cha Seo-hui.”
“Yes!”
Cha Seo-hui, called first, went forward and was quiet for a moment.
Then
“Oh!”
came the sound as her number was drawn.
Group 4, Number 1.
‘Lucky draw.’
And a few more names were called.
My turn was the second to last.
“Kimi Ha Seol.”
I stepped forward quietly, and an official from the association held out a silk pouch.
I carefully reached into the pouch.
My fingers brushed against something hard and plastic, a small rectangular piece.
I rummaged through a bit before pulling out one at random.
[4]
An ambiguous number somewhere in the middle-to-late range.
I shrugged, returned the piece to the official, and walked back.
Cha Seo-hui spoke up from beside me.
“Will you be okay? The ice condition isn’t great either.”
Whether you say anything or not, it’s hardly fine.
As it happened, the skater everyone was watching at this competition was in the last group—Group 5.
“Amasaki Rika.”
She naturally had an extra year of experience, so a higher ranking was inevitable.
At minimum, there was no need to worry about anything until after the Free Skating draw.
Much later, after Group 5’s draw ended, the run-through began.
When I returned to the waiting area, my coach was preparing meals.
“What number are you?”
“Group 4, skater number 4.”
“Mm, I see.”
The fact that he said nothing more meant he was displeased with it, as expected.
The bento box menu was a retort-pouch dish brought from Korea.
I was glad for the familiar taste.
“Should I do your taping instead?”
“After I finish eating.”
“All right, then let’s think about it now.”
My coach rested his chin on his hand quietly beside me.
“Short program. Loop Connection or Toe Loop Connection?”
“Hmm.”
I tapped my feet lightly against the ground.
My soles were still sore, but it was bearable.
“Wouldn’t the loop be better, actually? Since I’ve been managing my right leg well, it might be better than placing the toe on my left foot.”
“Then finish eating first and try it out once. Since we’re on land, keep the opening jump simple—just a Double Axel.”
I didn’t answer further and worked my chopsticks quickly.
After taking a sip of water and bouncing on my feet, my coach cleared away the bento box for me.
I found a suitable space and bounced a few more times while preparing to jump.
I attempted several jumps and checked my soles.
After chaining into and landing a Triple Toe Loop, I straightened my spine again.
“Both look fine. So for now—”
My coach glanced around, then whispered something to me.
I smiled faintly.
“A smoke screen tactic.”
“Exactly.”
“But will it work?”
“It’s a run-through. Take it or leave it. Besides, what we submitted originally was the Toe Loop Connection.”
“Well then.”
I flopped down and began changing into my skates.
After tying my laces firmly, it was time for Group 4’s run-through.

During the run-through—the rehearsal—the music played all the way through just like in competition.
But since there was no scoring, as soon as one skater finished, the next skater’s music began immediately.
Even as the music’s performer danced their choreography, other skaters didn’t stop practicing around them.
‘The condition looks good.’
Park Chae-ram watched his student with a hawk’s eye.
Sure enough, mist hung thin even at this early hour, so the blade couldn’t be seen clearly.
It was good that he’d recorded everything on the tablet.
‘The Lutz Edge looks a little thin, but not to a problematic degree. Though deeper would be better.’
The Flip Edge was a bit deep too, but it didn’t matter as long as she didn’t cross out to the outside.
The Loop Connection and Toe Loop Connection both looked solid—wait.
Park Chae-ram cast a sideways glance at the skater blocking Ha Seol’s path.
Unlike Ha Seol, this competitor wore a reddish costume and styled her hair in a bun.
He couldn’t fathom why this rich girl kept trailing after Ha Seol ever since the Athlete’s Village.
Scanning the area, he spotted the other coach watching her skater nearby.
‘So it’s starting already.’
The prelude to the politics that lay beyond the ice.
He’d warned his student beforehand, but now that the moment was upon them, the weight of it was palpable.
“Coach.”
“Yes.”
Ha Seol approached quietly beside him.
“What should we do?”
“……How’s your foot?”
“For now, it’s fine.”
“For now.”
Yet that skater was his daughter.
Not a drop of blood between them, but as Ha Seol’s legal guardian, he supposed the resemblance ran deep enough.
Park Chae-ram was hesitating.
Standing before a choice that might determine the path of his student and adopted child.
‘We’ve already won one Grand Prix medal.’
Should he play this round safe, or……
“Coach.”
But his student spoke clearly.
“Let’s go for it.”
“I……? I……”
Before he could answer, the girl was called to the ice.
Park Chae-ram tracked the skater’s movements with the focus of a hawk.
For the first jumps: Triple Lutz, Triple Toe Loop.
Instead replaced with Double Lutz, Double Toe Loop.
The distance was good, and watching her slip into light transitions right after landing suggested she had energy to spare.
For a moment, their eyes seemed to meet.
A strange smile in them.
The Returner’s Ice 41
E-book Publication Date | June 5, 2026

Author | Korkarolli
Publisher | Heo Heung-beom, Park Geon-won
Published by | Potence

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Phone | 02-6320-8500
Fax | 02-6320-8585

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ⓒ Korkarolli 2026

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This e-book is published by agreement with the author, and unauthorized reproduction, copying, distribution, and sharing without written consent from 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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