The Regressor's Ice Is Golden - Chapter 50

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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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050.

To understand how this came about, some explanation was necessary.
As a minor, Cha Jin-hee needed grounds to prevent her parents from derailing her career.
By remaining a freelancer and choreographing for various skaters—domestic and international alike.
Especially with foreign athletes, their national federations and sponsors would become entangled in business dealings.
Once that happened, if they went around saying “Your daughter is talented and wonderful!” it would become difficult for TK to sabotage her future without damaging their own image.
‘They’re not the type to ruin their reputation just to block their daughter’s path.’
They were already making good use of Cha Seo-hee’s image as currency—they wouldn’t refuse a gift handed to them on a platter.
But when Chizuru happened to mention she was coming to Korea for training, I connected them.
It seemed Chizuru’s parents and coach trusted me enough to send her, since we’d eaten a home-cooked meal at their place and they knew my coach.
‘But even so, sending a middle schooler alone overseas felt… questionable.’
Park Coach wasn’t a bad person, but I wasn’t sure this was entirely above board.
I shelved my misgivings and managed an introduction in halting Japanese.
“This is Chizuru from Japan. Coach, this is Cha Jin-hee.”
The two of them greeted each other hesitantly.
“Ah, um. Hajimemashite.”
“Ah, hi! I’m Chizuru desu.”
The awkwardness was indistinguishable from what I’d felt arranging a blind date.
“Let’s talk on the way to Taereung. The airport’s too loud anyway.”
“Sure, let’s do that.”
Then, out of nowhere, Cha Jin-hee started speaking in Japanese.
Chizuru’s eyes went wide, and she nodded and followed along.
It was a bit awkward, but they shook hands and even managed stilted smiles.
‘What…?’
Suddenly excluded, I stared between them in bewilderment as I led them to Park Coach’s car.
I took the front passenger seat and settled them both in the back.
“Chizuru, long time! How’ve you been?”
“Hi! Annyeonghaseyo!”
The moment the engine started, I slipped my phone out and texted Cha Jin-hee.
[Since when do you speak Japanese?]
She turned around, her face flushed beet-red, and typed back haltingly.
[Not much, just a little… I watch anime and listen to songs… and kind of got interested.]
Right, that’s all I need to know.
If she could communicate, that was all that mattered—a foreign athlete’s dream come true.
The car door closed, and I settled back against the seat.
It seemed the two of them would converse only in Japanese, so I turned on voice translation on my phone.
The screen flickered with rapid translations of their words.
At first, they seemed to be opening with basic pleasantries.
[Nice to meet you. I heard about you.]
That was Chizuru.
[Thank you so much. I look forward to learning from you during my stay in Korea.]
That was Cha Jin-hee.
‘Seems natural enough.’
But somewhere around the time the car began crossing the bridge, the conversation crossed a point of no return.
It started when Cha Jin-hee began probing into Chizuru’s personal life.
[I heard you live in Nagoya—is that right?]
[Yes, I came from Nagoya.]
[Wow, I’ve heard Nagoya is the mecca of figure skating. Do you live there with your family?]
What we’d overlooked was that Cha Jin-hee was terrible at small talk, and the supposedly harmless topics she’d settled on could easily read as privacy invasion to someone on the receiving end.
But from my seat up front, I couldn’t catch the full drift of the atmosphere—I could only read the translations trickling slowly across my phone.
[It’s just an ordinary neighborhood. My family and I get along well. Thank you for your concern.]
[Oh, it’s not concern—just curiosity. My older sister usually does ground training in Canada.]
[I see.]
That’s when I belatedly realized something was off with the conversation.
From the back seat, I caught Cha Jin-hee stammering something in Japanese.
Even from here, I could tell she was flustered, trying hard not to show it.
[So, do you have a favorite snack? I like salty and spicy crackers myself.]
[I like matcha. By the way, you ask a lot of questions, don’t you, Jin-hee? You’re quite enthusiastic.]
[Oh, I’m sorry if it’s been uncomfortable for you.]
The atmosphere died in an instant, turning awkward in a heartbeat.
And I realized something new.
These two were hopelessly mismatched.
‘Damn.’
Listening to them go back and forth, their tastes and temperaments had nothing in common.
If they took an MBTI test, all four letters would come out opposite.
Faced with this unexpected complication, I squeezed my eyes shut.
To break the awkward silence, I quickly translated a sentence and handed the phone back.
[It’ll take a while to get to the practice venue, so rest a bit. You’re both probably tired from the long trip.]
“Oh, uh… okay.”
After that, the car fell silent, and I just stared blankly up at the sky.
The crisp autumn sky was remarkably vivid.
‘I need to get these two working soon.’
As the engine rumbled around me, that’s when I dozed off.
A buzz from my phone jolted me awake.
A notification popped up—SNS.
Chizuru had posted a new story.
A ticket to Korea and a photo of clouds out the airplane window—probably taken on the way here today.
‘She came in really excited, I guess.’
The caption was in Japanese, so I couldn’t read it, but the photo made her enthusiasm clear.
And then I noticed something else on Chizuru’s account.
A collection of stories in one corner of her profile, titled with dates.
Photos from the JGP Japan Tournament, sorted by date.
There were photos of her wearing the clothes I’d given her, pictures of meals we’d shared together, and the TV broadcast of the JGP Round 6 Free Skating.
It looked like she’d collected only the photos taken since we’d become friends.
‘That’s cute.’
I turned off my phone and closed my eyes again.
Not knowing then that this moment was the most peaceful I’d ever be.

***

The Taereung Athletes’ Village buildings were shabby, but they cut an impressive figure nonetheless.
“Oh, we’re a bit early. Want to grab a snack?”
“No, thank you.”
“Then should we do Ground Training as planned?”
Chizuru, hearing the translation through the app, smiled brightly and nodded.
Now that I think about it, we had two athletes, one staff member, and… one civilian.
“What about you?”
“Oh, just leave me be. I’ve got academy homework to do anyway.”
The academics of a civilian middle school student—it never stopped being a shame.
I had a Physical Therapy session scheduled, so Chizuru was going to be separated with the trainer.
As soon as the time came, the trainer assigned to Chizuru went to find her, and the rest of us got to work.
“Now lie face down here, please.”
“Okay.”
I took off my shirt and lay obediently on what was either a medical bed or a treatment table.
Feeling the Medical Device attach to my back, I picked up my phone.
The groundwork I’d laid before heading to Japan was about to get hit by a tidal wave.
First, it came from the photo shoot and advertisement of Choi Ji-hwan that had gotten good responses last time.
Park Ji-ho’s mother’s company—in other words, All Of Sports attached to Hooks—had naturally reposted the photo shoot on SNS through their marketing team.
For whatever algorithmic reason, it had gone viral on the Reels.
A handsome model plus surprisingly solid product quality.
And there was something I hadn’t known about: an issue that took it further still.
It was a post written anonymously on a community forum.

[TK twins do figure skating, right?]
One of them is dating someone?

If the people involved had seen it, they would’ve hated it—but then again, the most entertaining stories in the world are always about other people’s love lives and conflicts.
At first, people thought it was about Cha Seo-hee, but soon the target shifted.
Someone shared the post to the school’s anonymous forum, and it inadvertently gave substance to dating rumors about her.

-I saw them lol they’re not the figure skater Cha S-hee, it’s Cha J-hee, they’ve been stuck together since elementary school
-Wait Park J-ho’s girlfriend was her? I don’t remember her wearing glasses
-What are you talking about?

Then someone else shared it, and a journalist picked up the story and ran with it.

[Exclusive] “Love on the Ice?” Late-night Secret Meeting Between TK’s Second Daughter and Young Romantic Rivals

‘Who on earth came up with that headline.’
The comment section was predictably full of people calling out the reporter for chasing a story about middle schoolers.
But the marketing team knew how to work.
They’d played their cards well.
……Disgustingly well, really.

-Hey, didn’t In-seon do a photo shoot for Hooks before Choi Ji-hwan?
-The behind-the-scenes shots are probably still up on Hooks’s online store, right?

Anonymous accounts masterfully wove together the story of Choi Ji-hwan’s and my Hooks photo shoot with Park Ji-ho’s custom outfit work, muddying the waters across community forums.
They spotlighted the Hooks owner’s inspiring story of discovering young talent and offering support, then illuminated the bond between his son and TK’s second daughter.

-Wow, TK’s second daughter really has reason to follow him around
-Their Instagram is so cute lol they’re not just one-sidedly following each other, they treat each other like idiots while actually looking out for each other
-Hooks makes figure skating outfits too?
-Oh so that’s where In-seon’s clothes came from

Finally, they topped it all off with the Instagram story Chizuru had posted.
The one about the outfit I’d given her as a gift when I went to Japan.
Whether it was actually true or not, they ran ads claiming it had started trending in Japan.
In any case, Hooks’s clothing had become a trending issue riding on the wave of noise marketing.
Thanks to the adorable dating rumor between middle schoolers, the brand had been embraced on social media as hip and playful.
As a result, other clothing platforms began expressing interest in selling the line.
‘Looks like business is going to be good.’
All Of Sports would’ve pocketed their cut from the sales boost too.
I felt a prickle run down my spine as I turned off my phone.
After physical therapy ended, it was time for some light warm-ups and ground training on the ice.
On top of that, it was time for Cha Jin-hee and Chizuru to work.
[Is there any music you want for the Gala Show?]
[Of course! Now that I think about it, I didn’t know Jin-hee was so good at Japanese. I wonder if she knows the song I’m thinking of?]
[Well, describe it to me.]
We regrouped, changed into our skates, and stepped out onto the ice.
Taereung Ice Rink was crowded that day, and the air felt particularly cold.
I slowly picked up speed and began warming up my body.
Meanwhile, the two of them, who had been cramped for practice time, chatted away cheerfully.
I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but something was definitely progressing.
‘I guess they have similar work styles.’
So I tuned them out and focused on clearing the Standing Quests from my Status Window.
Since I’d just adjusted to new blades and was still adapting, there was plenty to work on.
At least they were the same model as my old ones, so it could have been worse.
Coach Park stood watch over me with his usual Apple Pad, eyes unblinking.
“Come on, straighten your back a bit more.”
I practiced several Spins and went through each Jump methodically.
As I circled the rink several times, their conversation drifted past my ears.
-!
But with each lap, their voices grew steadily more tense and precarious.
And around the time I’d completed five and a half laps, a sharp cry—almost a scream—cut through the air.
“Don’t say that!”
I reflexively turned my head.
Cha Jin-hee, her face flushed, was staring at Chizuru, whose lips were pressed tightly together.
The Returner’s Ice Sheet in Gold – Episode 50
E-book Publication Date | June 5, 2026

Author | Korkarolli
Publishers | Heo Heung-beom, Park Gun-won
Published by | Poten

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

UCI | G720:N+A101-20260514092.0050
List Price | 100 won

ⓒ Korkarolli 2026

This e-book is protected under copyright law.
This e-book is published under contract with the author, and any unauthorized reproduction, copying, distribution, or 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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