The Regressor's Ice Is Golden - Chapter 60

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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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060.

Though she’d stumbled at the Open Trophy, Kim Ha-seol’s standing within the country remained unshaken.
After all, domestic rankings were determined solely by domestic competition results.
Thus Kim Ha-seol, adorned with a silver medal from the Junior Grand Prix Series selection trials and gold from the Superintendent Cup, had just entered the first group.
In truth, except for the Seoul Metropolitan Area or Gangwon Province, most regions lacked enough competitors, so they conducted integrated selection trials by combining multiple provinces.
Having approached this tournament—one without even a Kiss and Cry Zone—with a lighthearted attitude, the university student found herself staring blankly at the ice rink.
‘Ugh, I’m getting the chills.’
Between the unfamiliar regional setting, the perpetually frigid air of the ice rink, and that irritating acrylic barrier, it all felt rather unwelcoming.
The student tore open one of the heat packs she’d brought along and shook it.
According to a tip from her SNS friends, heat packs were the more the merrier.
Once her body warmed up, the bored student glanced around her surroundings.
Most of the spectators appeared to be family and friends of the competitors.
In other words, there was no one else like her—someone who simply loved figure skating and had shown up on a whim.
‘I wish the person on the other side hadn’t brought a camera…’
Wait. That back of the head—where have I seen it before?
The way someone had threaded a camera lens through a hole in the acrylic barrier was anything but ordinary.
Suddenly struck by a sense of déjà vu, the student pulled up SNS on her phone.
Her hunch was right.
Her SNS friend and figure skating photographer—a home master who went by the name Dube.
-Heading out to the Winter Sports Festival integrated selection trials.
That’s definitely her…!
The student marveled briefly at her friend’s almost supernatural scheduling sense.
A full-time job, raising kids, and she’s still here!
Not that it was her business to pry into someone else’s affairs, but there had to be some reserve of strength she was drawing from.
The moment the first group’s short program ended, she made her way down to meet her.
“Hey, Dube!”
“Oh!”
Dube, recognizing her SNS friend—the young mother—widened her eyes.
Her hands moved over the camera with deft precision, hardly needing to look.
“You came!”
“Of course! You’re here too!”
The two slipped out into the hallway for a moment.
The second group’s warm-up had just begun.
As long as they were back before the competition started, there was plenty of time for a chat.
“How have you been?”
“Good! You went to China and came back safely, right?”
“Of course. I delivered the letter just fine.”
“Aww.”
The student beamed with genuine happiness.
She didn’t know that the fan letter had brought its recipient both immeasurable joy and some unexpected awkwardness, but that wasn’t her concern—she was simply thrilled.
“Thank you so much. Would it be okay if I bought you dinner later?”
“Oh, come on, you’re a student!”
The two were still going back and forth politely when the student handed over a canned coffee, which settled the matter neatly enough.
“Thank you so much.”
Dube popped open the canned coffee, drained it in one go, and picked up her camera with renewed vigor, leading the way back.
“Isn’t it terribly cold here?”
“Oh, this is just cool. You should try Mokdong sometime. That place is a complete ice box.”
“Hm.”
After the brief encounter, the student returned to her seat.
The second group’s short program went on, but it grew increasingly tedious.
Listen to the music, watch the choreography, count the jumps.
“Good grief.”
This season’s juniors had a mandatory single flip jump and Flying Sit Spin requirement, she’d heard.
Perhaps because of that, the jump combinations showed surprising variety.
Triple Toe Loop with Double Loop, Triple Salchow with Double Toe Loop, and so on.
‘The layout’s lower than I expected.’
And so she came to a fresh realization.
Just how mad Kim Ha-seol was, landing a Triple Lutz-Triple Loop combination—the highest base value sequence—as a first-year junior.
‘What, she cleaned it up that easily?’
Of course, this time it was a Toe Loop rather than a Lutz, but even that felt sufficiently difficult for a junior-level skater to attempt.
Looking at Group 2 alone, there was only one skater who’d attached a triple to a jump combination.
And she’d fallen on it, too.
Through it all, Dube was tracking the skaters with professional precision from across the ice rink with her camera.
After Group 2’s competition ended, they had ten minutes for ice resurfacing.
Then, finally, the last Group 3 competition began.
{We now invite the warm-up group for Women’s Junior Division A, numbers 11 through 15. The warm-up period is six minutes.}
Five skaters poured onto the ice.
‘Gasp!’
The college student, unable to suppress an involuntary exclamation, quickly spotted her favorite.
‘Kim Ha-seol!’
Overcome with excitement, she seized the hem of her outer jacket.
Kim Ha-seol had swept all her right-side hair back and pinned it in place, and atop that perched a deep red flower hair accessory.
The look everyone thinks of as tango hair, in other words.
She’d worn a new hair accessory when she went to Nagoya, too.
‘Is she planning to do something special today?’
In any case, Kim Ha-seol ran through her warm-up routine methodically.
She swept rapidly around the rink, building speed.
Then came the Double Axel, chained from an Ina Bauer.
From what the student could see, her condition looked fairly solid.
‘Wow, incredible.’
Watching in person really was more strik—
Whoosh!
Another skater launched into a Double Axel from nearly the same spot.
The one in the red skirt began spinning rapidly in place, her dress swirling.
‘Oh, right.’
The student remembered hearing there was another skater at this competition who was just as formidable as Kim Ha-seol.
Cha Seo-hee.
A first-year prodigy who wielded the Triple Axel as her signature move.
The college student alternated her gaze between where the skater had stood and where she’d landed.
The distance was slightly shorter than Kim Ha-seol’s, but the height was staggering.
‘Wow…’
Unaware of the rivalries brewing among fans behind the scenes, the student felt herself growing excited.
Kim Ha-seol would skate first, Cha Seo-hee last.
After warm-up ended, thunderous cheers erupted as the first skater took the ice.
‘Wow, a Triple Salchow into a Toe Loop!’
Though the landing on the final Toe Loop was a bit rough, this skater too looked formidable.
But since she wasn’t particularly the student’s focus, she simply watched and enjoyed it well enough.
The moment that skater finished and exited the ice.
The skater she’d been waiting for finally took the rink.
“Gulp.”
Hold back for now—the judges are still scoring the last performance.
That’s how she spent about a minute, sipping her canned coffee and waiting.
{We now introduce our competitor. From Songgol Middle School, Kim Ha-seol.}
“Ahhhhhh!”
A noticeably louder cheer erupted through the ice rink than before.
There were definitely more spectators than she’d realized.
‘Kim Ha-seol!’
The college student clapped enthusiastically before settling back into her seat.
The skater came to a stop at the center of the ice and took her opening position.
The ice rink fell silent in an instant.
‘I heard she lowered her layout.’
Tension hung in the air—in the slight stiffness of the skater’s expression, in the white-knuckled grip of the student’s clasped hands.
Could she pull it off?
The next moment, the bright, rapid melody of a bandoneon—now familiar to the student’s ear—filled the ice rink.
The skater’s arm traced through the air in a circle, then she pushed off into her choreography and began her skating.
‘There it is, that speed!’
Bold footwork that commanded her center of gravity, yet radiated ease.
Her choreography flowed like a gentle walk across a wooden floor, though she was gliding on ice.
And carrying that speed, she launches into the first jump.
The skater leans hard on her left edge, turning backward, then drives her right toe into the ice with a sharp strike.
Triple Lutz!
Breath caught.
The college student held her breath, eyes wide.
With a sharp whistle, the skater extends her left leg behind her as the rotation releases.
She strikes the ice again, launching directly into the Triple Toe Loop!
Whoosh—!
“Oh my…!”
The spectators burst into applause at the successful jump combination.
‘That distance! And the height!’
The college student, now fully invested, clenched her fist once more.
The skater’s expression remained focused, and soon the timing for the next jump drew near.
A solo Triple Flip, preceded by a Mohawk Turn!
Just as expected, her right toe clicks crisply against the ice, and the skater launches skyward.
She lands smoothly, then immediately propels her body upward again.
In that same instant, the college student drew a sharp breath.
The Flying Sit Spin—the one she’d botched at the Open Trophy.
Whirr—!
Perfect.
The rotation axis held steady, the posture stable.
Still unfamiliar with the nuances of spin level composition, the college student watched in breathless silence.
Only when the Biellmann Spin Variation unwound did she finally allow herself a moment to breathe.
Then came an elaborate Step Sequence, and the college student’s eyes went wide again.
She didn’t want to miss a single second of that dazzling footwork.
‘She’s incredible.’
What had she been training so hard to improve in such a short time?
Someone so much younger than her.
The college student, unaware of how much deeper her rival’s core ran, felt an unexpected sting.
After all, she must have watched all the recordings of my own performances too.
How could she throw herself into the program like this, with such grit and resolve?
‘I need to live like that too.’
The college student wiped away a tear without breaking her gaze.
‘Stay focused.’
It wasn’t over yet, and the program had long since entered its second half.
The piano’s melody wove through the bandoneon’s refrain in alternating waves.

***

‘I should’ve used this trick sooner!’
I ground my teeth as I executed the choreography with fierce intensity.
Thank goodness the genre was tango.
If this were something upbeat or lyrical, clenching my jaw like this would look utterly wrong.
To put it bluntly, rolling back my Status Window a month was nothing short of a cheat code.
My body felt so light I almost panicked.
I needed finer Edge Control because of it, but my Precision Stat was more than enough to compensate, so it posed no problem.
Crisp and sharp, the cluster of difficult turns and steps carved itself into the ice in bold strokes.
Thanks to that, I had more freedom to drive power through my fingertips and move my upper body with intention.
‘When I swing my arms, I can really throw more force into it. Like this. One, two, swish-swish-swish!’
All those countless choreography details Cha Jin-hee had drilled into me, complete with her meaningless interjections.
Especially since I’d blown one level of the Step Sequence last time, every single turn and step felt precious.
‘If I mess this up again, I’m done for.’
I built up speed again, preparing for the next jump.
The final jumping element: the Double Axel.
Whoosh—!
Even as applause echoed from the stands, my excitement was cooling into focus.
Two spins remained.
The first of them: the Camel Spin.
I snap my leg up, initiate the rotation, and begin counting.
I change position, rotate through several revolutions, then catch my elevated leg and hold it high in the air.
The moment she released the rotation, she launched straight into the next spin.
Beginning with a Camel Spin just as before, she tucked down into a Sit Spin, completed her revolutions, then rose slightly and shifted her feet to continue turning.
One, two, three, four….
She finished the Change Foot Combination Spin and locked into her closing position.
The tempo of the slowing melody grew hushed, and then—
Bang!
The piano’s final cry erupted all at once, bringing everything to a close.
A Clean Performance.
“Waaaaah!”
I lowered my arms, which were still throbbing gently.
For the first time in a long while, genuine cheers poured down like rain, and I welcomed them.
As always, I bowed to every section of the crowd, then made my way back slowly.
“Well done.”
The coach pulled the athlete into a tight embrace, just as she had done before.
This time, it was pure celebration.
The Returner’s Ice Rink in Gold Episode 60
E-book Publication Date | June 5, 2026

Author | Korkaroli
Publisher | Huh Heung-beom, Park Geon-won
Publishing House | Potent

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

UCI | G720:N+A101-20260514092.0060
List Price | 100 Won

© Korkaroli 2026

This e-book is a copyrighted work protected by copyright law.
This e-book has been published under contract with the author, and any unauthorized reproduction, copying, distribution, or sharing is prohibited 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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