The Regressor's Ice Is Golden - Chapter 65

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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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065.

There’s quite a sad story behind why he abandoned a perfectly good costume and had to commission a new one.
To understand it, we need to go back about a week.
I was just doing the usual thing that day — scrolling through the internet.
Feedback matters, after all.
The Senior Grand Prix Series was in full swing at the time, and Choi Ji-hwan’s second competition was where everything started.

-Why is Roula hanging around like that the whole time?
-Ugh, what’s his deal
-He trying to get under the kid’s skin or what
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

For reference, “Roula” was the nickname for another athlete from a different country in the same group at that competition.
According to the community threads, during the warm-up, that skater had been dogging Choi Ji-hwan so relentlessly that he couldn’t warm up properly.
Usually about five or six skaters share one rink during a group warm-up.
So to check your jumps, you have to time your takeoffs carefully and execute them nimbly—but you can’t do that if there are people around you.
Of course, these were just theories, and some people had a different take.

-Your guy isn’t even that good
-You Ji-hwan stans are being ridiculous
-If there are people around him, how does he even train in Korea??? lol

That’s roughly how it went.
Back then, I thought ‘sounds rough’ and casually texted him without much else on my mind.
It wasn’t like I was worried or anything—it was just part of the social routine.
He hadn’t made it to the Grand Prix Final, but he did pick up a bronze medal, so.
As a senior with a working relationship with him, wasn’t it only natural to offer a word of encouragement?
What I didn’t expect was that he’d actually call me back instead of texting.
‘What the hell.’
It was around midnight.
I dragged myself up from bed and answered the phone.
“H-hello?”
“Senior.”
And against all odds, Choi Ji-hwan’s voice sounded absolutely wrecked.
“What’s going on at this hour?”
“Well… it’s nothing. Just something happened.”
“Hmm?”
“It’s nothing serious.”
Sure, it didn’t sound serious at all.
Not with the way his entire voice was screaming that something was definitely wrong.
“Why aren’t you… saying anything?”
“Because it sounds like something serious.”
“Oh.”
Choi Ji-hwan fell silent for a moment, then asked rather lamely.
“Is it that obvious?”
“Yeah.”
“Really…?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah…”
Only then did Choi Ji-hwan start mumbling through what had happened.
Sure enough, it was that guy from the community posts after all.
“While I was waiting… at first I thought we’d just collided in the hallway by accident. But then once the Short Program started, the seams kept coming loose…”
“Ah.”
There was no doubt about it—that was deliberate.
He didn’t have any injuries, and only the costume was damaged, so whatever method was used, I couldn’t say for sure.
Normal people don’t tear fabric just by bumping into someone, so the guy must have messed with it while no one was looking.
“By the time I sat down in the Kiss and Cry, I felt like it was about to fall apart any second. I went straight to the changing room and took it off, and the whole thing just… scattered into pieces.”
“Good grief.”
I quietly reopened the internet browser on my phone and searched for the skater in question.
‘Performance-wise, they’re pretty much on par with Choi Ji-hwan.’
And this one came up after a year in the senior division.
Same first year as a senior, but a year older in age.
So to sum it up in a single sentence:
Some rival foreign skater who’d been envious of Choi Ji-hwan deliberately destroyed the costume.
“Shouldn’t you be looking for a new costume, then?”
“Well, the designer is away on business at the moment, and there’s no readily available funds. Even if there were, I’d need a costume ready for the Championship Ranking Tournament right away.”
“I see.”
I nodded and thought for a moment about the person who’d made my costume.
Someone who wasn’t studying all that earnestly despite being in the middle of final exams.
Someone who’d managed to create a surprisingly decent costume on his first try.
“Senior, I have someone I’d like to introduce you to. Would you have time tomorrow?”
“Yes…? I’m supposed to head to the provinces for a bit.”
“No, no—you just need to have your phone available in the afternoon.”
I quickly saved Park Ji-ho’s phone number.

“What? Seriously?”
The next day, when Park Ji-ho heard the news and we met during first period break, his jaw dropped as he fussed dramatically.
“Wow, that’s seriously crazy—I mean, how do you even know that person? Or wait, you do know them, right, somehow…”
What was he even asking.
Anyway, I spent about four minutes giving him a rough explanation.
“So I’d like to put you in touch with the senior. Since it’s come to this, why not create a costume for a national representative?”
“Well, um, but the thing is…”
Park Ji-ho scratched his head with a troubled expression.
“With you, it’s fine since I saw you in person even without taking measurements. But this isn’t just anyone—they’re a national representative. I mean, I could do it, but making a single costume, from cutting the fabric to everything else, is a ton of work.”
I’d figured time would be an issue.
He wasn’t some fairy godmother who could magic things up.
So I nodded and offered more details.
“The agency will cover the costs—materials and everything. And besides, they said you don’t need to go to that much trouble.”
“What kind of trouble…?”
“Well, figure skating costumes are usually all about fit, senior.”
Basic insulation for an ice sport, and enough functionality that you’re not hindered when executing jumps or spins.
But here’s what Choi Ji-hwan’s people suggested.
Forget all that—just something that looks like a costume and can be finished in time for the urgent Championship Ranking Tournament.
Once that competition is over, there’ll be time to alter it before the National Championships.
“Sigh…”
“Come on, senior. Please? You made two of my costumes in a week.”
“Well, your costumes were… one of them was basically just alterations—”
“It’s fine. Men’s clothing might even be easier. You’re used to it anyway.”
After pestering him so persistently, Park Ji-ho finally gave in and rattled off his account number.
The moment he saw the deposit come through, he shifted gears entirely.
“Alright, no way around this. I’d better get started right away?”
Meanwhile, Cha Jin-hee and I looked after his performance assessments (and took some grief for making such an important decision so recklessly), and Park Ji-ho came out to the ice rink, diligently stitching and gluing rhinestones.

For something made in such a rush…
‘It’s actually pretty?’
No exaggeration—the quality was genuinely solid.
I stood on the ice in my new costume and watched the skater.
The scratchy, uncomfortable lining was solved by wearing an extra undershirt beneath it, invisible and elegant.
That careful nature of his probably explains why he’d already carved out a place as a popular figure at school.
By the way, the person who made it collapsed in Coach Park’s car the moment the work was finished, moaning that he was dying.
In any case, soft music began to flow through the ice rink as the performance started.
Originally, Carmilla was a story between a female vampire and a human woman.
But when they adapted it into a musical, they created a male character who comes between the two, and that’s what this was.
The greedy, cruel vampire’s movements glided across the ice.
And the first jump—a Quadruple Salchow.
Whoosh!
“Clean.”
Having landed the opening jump smoothly, the skater continued into the choreography.
Choi Ji-hwan glared at the judges as if he wanted to kill them, then repositioned himself.
Triple Lutz, Triple Loop.
He landed both cleanly, and applause erupted from the crowd.
“Hah!”
“Ah…….”
Strange sounds came from the two people sitting below me, but they were the kind of noises I’d made myself now and then, so it didn’t matter.
They were probably fans of Choi Ji-hwan.
After landing every jump cleanly through his final Triple Axel in the second half, Choi Ji-hwan moved straight into his Step Sequence.
An avarice that made no attempt to hide itself, a cruelty that seized and dominated without regard for the other’s wishes.
After finishing his final Change Foot Combination Spin, the performance ended with choreography that looked like he was tearing out his own throat.
“Waaaaaaah!”
A standing ovation poured forth immediately, and Choi Ji-hwan bowed after completing his performance safely.
Even from a distance, his relief was visible.
‘Thank goodness.’
I should probably head back in soon—
“Oh, Kim Ha-seol?”
……?
I glanced down toward where the voice had come from and found those same two people staring up at me with wide eyes.
“Oh, it really is you! Did you come to watch the competition?”
“Um, well…….”
I felt cold sweat beginning to form.

The three of us decided to move to a different spot.
Sitting outside the Ice Rink in front of the Convenience Store, we introduced ourselves properly.
Turned out I already knew both of them.
“So you came all the way here to watch?”
“Heh, well, it’s within the competition circuit anyway. We got here easily enough. Someone gave us a ride.”
The college student laughed a bit awkwardly.
The working professional smiled gently and handed me a Canned Coffee.
“Oh, thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. But where did your coach go? Are you here alone……?”
“He had business to attend to with some Federation officials, so he stepped away. Today, aside from watching the competition, he’s staying in this area because of ground training.”
“Ah, you really do work hard.”
“Not at all.”
As the women’s group 2 competition progressed, the two of them spent the time enthusiastically complimenting me.
“Did you come up with the costume design yourself?”
“No, the person who made it brought their own design, and I liked it so much that I had it produced as is.”
“That’s impressive. It looked so amazing. And the choreography was powerful and straightforward, not cutting any corners—it really suited you.”
Concern and encouragement, and kind words piled high on top of it all.
I watched the two of them laugh and speak excitedly, smiling quietly to myself.
I never thought I’d hear words like this again in my lifetime.
No matter how many times I heard them, they never got old.

After listening to plenty of nice things, I headed back into the Ice Rink as group 4 was about to begin.
Coach Park had just finished his business and returned.
“Oh, you’re back? Ah! Those are the people, right?”
“Yes.”
“Hello!”
“Shouldn’t we be heading in soon?”
“Right.”
I nodded and checked the time on my phone.
The Championship Ranking Tournament is organized differently from the National Championships in terms of competition brackets.
The athletes are divided into two groups by rank, and one group consists of rank 7 and above, as well as those who are ISU Junior age or older.
In other words, one of my competitors today is……Lee Ji-su.
“Which group was Lee Ji-su in again.”
“She was third in group 4.”
And then Coach Park went a step further.
“If you don’t mind, would you like to move seats? There’s no assigned seating, so…….”
I blinked and looked back and forth between Coach Park and the two of them.
The college student also dropped his jaw open.
“Really? You don’t mind?”
“Not at all. We don’t mind in the least. You come watch us every time we compete domestically anyway.”
“Oh my!”
And there was one more person who absolutely had to meet this pair.
We made our way slowly back into the Ice Rink and decided to help the college student and office worker gather their things.
“Why don’t you sit in the officials’ section?”
“Of course. There’s one more person coming—you don’t mind sharing a row, do you?”
“Of course not! Thank you so much.”
The oblivious college student followed along, grinning the whole way.
But that grin didn’t last long.
“Hello, junior.”
“Hello.”
Choi Ji-hwan was sitting right there.
“Guh—”
“Say hello. They’re a fan of yours.”
“Oh, wait—”
“Ah.”
Choi Ji-hwan rose for a moment and bowed politely to the two dazed figures.
“Hello. Please enjoy the competition.”
“Ack—?!”
But the two of them couldn’t manage a single word in response.
The warm-up for Group Four was beginning.
[We will now begin the warm-up for Group Four of the women’s competition, skaters nineteen through twenty-four. The warm-up period is six minutes.]
I removed my blade guards and quickly began building up speed.
Lee Ji-su was executing a Back Spin in the distance.
‘For this Olympics, this competition’s results mattered—for her.’
And I would be chasing after her.
Of course, she wasn’t the only skater I needed to keep an eye on.
“Look ahead, up, check!”
Over on the other side, Cha Seo-hee was launching a Triple Axel to Coach Park’s cadence.
The Championship Ranking Tournament Group One followed ISU Senior rules.
This meant that junior skaters were freed from the constraints of required elements and could construct more flexible programs.
They could include a Triple Axel in the Short Program.
‘She definitely will.’
When the warm-up ended, the other skaters filed out of the ice in unison.
{Next skater: Songgol High School, Lee Ji-su.}
Applause poured down that matched what Choi Ji-hwan had received.
Lee Ji-su took her position at center ice, gathering herself carefully.
The Returner’s Ice, Golden Episode 65
E-book Publication Date | 2026.06.05

Author | Korcaroly
Publisher | Heo Heung-beom, Park Gun-won
Published by | Potent

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

UCI | G720:N+A101-20260514092.0065
List Price | 100 won

ⓒ Korcaroly 2026

This e-book is protected under copyright law.
This e-book is published under agreement with the author and may not be reprinted, copied, distributed, or shared 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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