The Regressor's Ice Is Golden - Chapter 64

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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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064.

[Kim Ha-seol]
Age: 13 years old (born February 27)
Height: 163 cm
Weight: 46 kg
Secondary Sexual Characteristics Progress: 45%

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

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

Special Notes: Regressor, unyielding determination
!Status Abnormality! Body composition changes due to secondary sexual characteristics
[Points: 4]

These stats are from the time of the sixth Junior Grand Prix Japan leg.
Forcibly restored using an item.
In other words, if I relied blindly on this and suddenly tanked on competition day, I’d have no excuse.
Just like at the Open Trophy Short program.
I spent two points on flexibility and fell into thought while performing the Ina Bauer.
‘This status abnormality is the real problem.’
No matter how natural it might be, I couldn’t keep pouring points endlessly into stats this unstable.
So I needed to find a way to resolve this somehow.
There were two main directions to consider.
‘Either delay it as much as possible, or finish it as quickly as possible.’
It was a matter of controlling the body’s growth, after all — who knew what aftereffects might come with it.
But I couldn’t spend every night groaning through growing pains either.
‘So then, let me think about the differences between these two approaches.’
Whoosh—my body launched into the air.
My skate blade landed lightly on the Double Axel, scattering ice shavings.
Delaying growth as long as possible meant I could maintain a consistent jump success rate over time.
And finishing it quickly had the advantage of being able to practice longer with a fully-developed body.
In figure skating, the former is usually the standard approach, but I wasn’t so sure.
‘Maybe I need to go a different route.’
Slow physical growth meant the period of shifting center of gravity would be longer as well.
Having to continuously adjust my sense of balance for body composition changes might make it difficult to bring an ambitious layout to the Grand Prix Qualifying the way I had before.
And timing-wise, the Olympics I could compete in would come after three more seasons, four years from now.
The season when I’d be exactly seventeen—the minimum age for Senior competition.
‘I can’t afford to be bound by this status abnormality until then.’
To make that Olympics, I’d have to graduate from Junior decisively the season before and move up to Senior.
That meant I needed to secure an invitation-based Senior Grand Prix entry slot, so I had to make the most of my final Junior season.
Make it so the federation would look at me and think, ‘This skater’s got real promise,’ enough to hand over that entry ticket.
“Deeper on the edge. Really deep!”
“Got it!”
I snapped back to focus and concentrated on my skating practice.
Though honestly, all this thinking would probably just mean I’d have to dig through the status window again later anyway.
I didn’t have any clear solution right this moment.
“Alright, wrap up. You’ve still got more left in you, yeah?”
“Whoa, this is brutal.”
Cha Jin-hee collapsed beside me with a groan.
And in the same breath, let out a pained whimper.
“What’s wrong?”
“My stomach hurts……. Just give me a second.”
Cha Jin-hee limped to her feet and stepped away from the rink for a moment.
She fished a bottle of pills and a water bottle from her bag.
“What’s that?”
“Painkillers. I take two and they settle things down just fine.”
“Oh.”
She went on to explain that when she first got her period, she thought she was dying, but now it was bearable—just unbearably annoying.
I watched her for a moment, lost in thought.
‘When am I going to…’
Cha Seo-hee’s situation was starting to feel uncomfortably close to my own.
Honestly, at this point, if it happened tomorrow, I couldn’t say I wasn’t ready for it.
‘Maybe it would actually be better if it came sooner.’
My cycle was irregular, but it followed a predictable pattern, so from a strategic standpoint—controlling for unwanted variables—earlier might be preferable.
Once it started, things would get messy.
Ideally it would happen during the off-season.
“Are you done? You should probably take a break.”
“No, I’m fine. It’s more fun than studying anyway.”
Well, that much was true.
I made a face and headed back onto the ice.

The moment practice ended, I rushed home and locked myself in the bathroom.
Under the hot water, I brought up my status window again.
‘Let me see.’
Right now, one of my Special Ability slots was empty.
If I could obtain something, I could equip another ability.
The problem was that I’d been pouring all my points into maintaining my stats, leaving nothing in reserve.
Even now, I didn’t have enough points to buy another ability.
So then?
‘Are there any new challenges waiting?’
[I’ve been waiting.]
Right.
With a familiar chime, the window opened to display a new notification.

[!A new Challenge has been assigned!]
[5. Compete in the Junior World Championship and place in the top 10]
[Challenge 5 Reward: Guaranteed A-rank Special Ability Gacha Ticket]

That’s pretty intense.
I stopped mid-shampoo, momentarily stunned, but quickly composed myself.
The timing was perfect, actually.
The World Championship is held near the end of the season.
There’s a domestic championship around the same time, but it doesn’t grant entry to other competitions or count toward college admissions.
Once those championships are over, the off-season begins.
There are no more competitions to enter.
In that sense, the quest was ideally timed.
‘How perfectly convenient.’
I nodded and closed the status window.
As I was washing my hair and showering, a thought occurred to me.
Out of all the people in the world, why me?
And why does it all feel so timely, so considerate?
‘What are you, really?’
But no answer came.
When I emerged from the shower, Coach Park was pulling out a quilt.
“What are you doing?”
“Winter’s here now. This is the down quilt I’ve been saving. Use it from tonight on.”
Ah.
I quickly toweled my damp hair dry.
I tossed the towel into the hamper and went to my room, gathering up my old quilt.
Coach Park draped the thick new one over me.
“There’s also an electric heating mat, but let’s install that gradually. Or maybe now would be better?”
“It’s fine.”
I’m just grateful to have this much.
“What about you, Coach?”
“Me?”
Coach Park glanced away and dodged the question.
“I don’t really feel the cold.”
This man whose nose turned red at every ice rental session was saying that.
I smiled softly and pulled out the electric heating mat.
He waved it off vigorously, but I slipped it under his quilt anyway.
“Sleep well.”
“All right…….”
The light went out, and I burrowed beneath that thick down quilt.
‘I’m going to die during the off-season.’
While mulling over how much land training I could manage, I drifted off to sleep.
And so the Championship Ranking drew near.

***

“Mom, I’m sleepy.”
“I am too…….”
Mother and daughter huddled together at the ice rink they’d found after so long, shivering.
They’d come because their daughter had taken a genuine liking to figure skating.
They’d underestimated the ice rink in mid-to-late November.
Back then the outside had been sweltering, and the air conditioning felt intense enough; now that it had turned cold, this was something else.
“Um, excuse me—if your little one gets too cold, would this help?”
“Sorry?”
Turning around, she saw two women bundled in padded jackets staring at them.
One of them tore open a hand warmer pack and offered it.
“Oh my, you really don’t have to—”
“We have plenty of hand warmers! Please, take one for the child.”
“Thank you so much!”
The elementary school girl politely folded her hands and accepted the pack.
Holding it tight, she gradually warmed up.
Watching this, the woman who’d given the hand warmer turned to her companion.
“Cute, isn’t she?”
“Sure is.”
The college student beside her rested her chin on her hand, gazing down at the ice.
{We will now begin warm-up for men’s senior group 2, competitors seven through eleven. Warm-up time is six minutes.}
“What number is Choi Ji-hwan today?”
“Last group, senior.”
“Again?”
“I know, right.”
The woman groaned about her favorite’s draw luck and cracked open a fresh can of coffee.
She’d bought six cans and was on her second.
“Is it okay to drink it that fast?”
“I never thought I’d end up living like this.”
“I see.”
She barely had a job to speak of.
Just then, Choi Ji-hwan landed a Triple Loop.
“Oh, he’s looking sharp today.”
“You can tell that from here?”
“Well, he doesn’t seem to hesitate at all. When his condition’s off, sometimes he doubles them.”
“I see…….”
The college student turned her attention back to the athletes warming up—
“Huh?”
And the woman also pulled her lips away from her can of coffee, stunned.
Choi Ji-hwan was peeling off an outer jacket with “Seoul City Hall” printed on the back.
And what he was wearing underneath—
“Wait? That’s not the costume I thought it was, is it?”
“What do you mean? Oh no, don’t tell me—”
The woman nodded grimly.
“A new costume…….”
“……!”
No way.
The college student immediately clapped a hand over her mouth.
Figure skaters typically made only two or three costumes per season and wore them continuously until the season ended.
Beyond the production costs, once a program was set, there was rarely anything to change before it was finished.
In that sense, a new costume was like getting a double order of black bean noodles—something you only treated yourself to on graduation or entrance exam day.
“Wow, where did someone have this made.”
The office worker’s eyes went wide as she crumpled the can in her hand.
The drink didn’t actually spill, but the college student naturally reached for a tissue to help.
Choi Ji-hwan’s Short program costume this season had been nothing but a white shirt and black pants.
But what he was wearing now was entirely different, even though it still took the form of a shirt.
Semi-transparent, billowing balloon sleeves that showed the skin beneath.
And a silver gradient that shimmered downward from above.
That alone would have been beautiful enough, but there was more.
Blood-red beads and crystals cascading down from the shoulders and beneath the shirt collar like a downpour.
The two women fell silent for a moment, watching the skater move.
“Wow, he’s really handsome, though.”
The college student grinned, still watching Choi Ji-hwan.
The office worker pretended not to agree—though clearly, she did.
“Right?”
“I mean, even when I was managing idols, you didn’t see faces like that often. The eyebrows are—sharp!—but the features are somehow soft, you know?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’m just saying, that’s a thing.”
The office worker, who’d never managed an idol in her life, shrugged and set down the empty can.
Meanwhile, other skaters took their turns, each sitting in the Kiss and Cry to receive their scores.
And now the owner of the countless placards hanging on the rink’s rails stepped onto the ice.
[Next skater. Songgol High School, Choi Ji-hwan.]
A roar erupted that far surpassed the previous skaters.
The Four Continents Championship entry, the next season’s national team selection, and an Olympics berth were all on the line at this competition—and he had a new costume.
After the wave of cheers subsided, the skater finished his bow and took center ice.
He dropped to one knee and wrapped his arms around himself.
Choi Ji-hwan’s Short program was a Musical number.
Specifically, “Ask and You Shall Receive,” a number from the musical film Carmilla.
A young male voice poured into the silent rink.
The Regressor’s Ice Rink is Golden Chapter 64
E-book release date | June 5, 2026

Author | Korkarolli
Editor | Heo Hung-beom, Park Geon-won
Publisher | Poten

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

UCI | G720:N+A101-20260514092.0064
List price | 100 won

© Korkarolli 2026

This e-book is protected under copyright law.
This e-book is published by agreement with the author and may not be reproduced, distributed, or shared in any form 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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