The Regressor's Ice Is Golden - Chapter 69

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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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069.

The run-through proceeded without incident.
It was only a rehearsal, after all—no need to attempt anything too ambitious.
Even with double jumps, executing them with proper form was what mattered.
“Your rotation axis is fine, but you could tighten your legs more.”
“Like this?”
“That’s right. Your footwork is solid as is, but skate with more confidence. Pay attention to whether your blade is cutting a clean line through the ice.”
“Got it.”
I tapped my toe pick sharply and pushed my skating speed higher.
To earn a Grade of Execution of 3 on a jump, there are specific criteria that must be met.
One step per criterion met.
But to hit a Grade of Execution of 4 or higher, there are exactly three non-negotiable requirements.
What are these three?
—Exceptional height and distance
—A strong takeoff and clean landing
—An appearance of ease from start to finish, as if exertion is effortless.
If any one of these three is lacking, you can’t score higher than 3.
That’s why form is so critical in figure skating.
“Rotate, up, check!”
Triple Flip, Triple Loop!
The backup plan for when I can’t connect a Loop after the Lutz.
“Perfect, that’s it. Give more tension through your ankles and your big toe.”
Even in the back group, the atmosphere was knife-edge tense.
Well, this was a National Team qualifying event—everyone here was on edge.
And I was no exception; the anxiety was getting to me too.
“Coach, could I just have a sip of water?”
“Here.”
I took the bottle solemnly and drank a single mouthful.
I felt the cold liquid slide down my throat.
Cold air of the Ice Rink, cold fingertips, cold heart.
But really, there was no need to be anxious.
I’d stood on rinks like this countless times before.
Nothing here was any different.
Soon the run-through ended and the competition began.

***

“Ugh, this place is sticky as hell.”
“The cushions must be blocking the vents—they didn’t clean properly.”
“Does anyone have wet wipes?”
“Over here!”
Park Ji-ho and his friends—a solid group of classmates—had decided to celebrate one last weekend before the midterms, a few weeks away.
They’d started the morning at a Board Game Cafe, and now, after lunch, they were settling into a newly opened Room Cafe to pass the afternoon.
The National Library’s media reading room from before couldn’t handle this many people having so much fun.
In any case, once Park Ji-ho finished his phone call, he walked in carrying a tray of drinks.
“Alright everyone, grab yours and help yourselves.”
“Wow, you brought all of these?”
“Thanks!”
The middle schoolers each claimed their share and immediately quenched their thirst.
There was something wonderfully youthful about ordering iced drinks even in the depths of winter.
“This is my first time watching a figure skating competition live!”
“I’ve seen Lee Yu-na at the Olympics before.”
“Wasn’t that back in elementary school for us?”
“Didn’t Lee Yu-na do a Triple Axel or something?”
And there it was.
The innocent and yet merciless question that casual fans ask true enthusiasts.
Park Ji-ho sent a subtle message of condolence to the day’s special guest, who hadn’t arrived yet.
Though in fairness, he couldn’t really judge—he himself wasn’t exactly sure of the details anymore.
I know what kind of jump that is now, but I couldn’t explain why it’s so incredible even if my life depended on it.
“What’s gotten into you? Ever since you started gathering people to cheer on your little sister, I figured the kid had lost it.”
“Hey, that’s my portfolio piece! I made those clothes, I’m telling you?”
“This fleece is hers?”
“Was it Cha Jin-hee? She’s coming too, right?”
“What did everyone order to drink?”
“I got iced tea!”
Yeah, this is complete chaos.
In the meantime, a few impatient types had grabbed the remote and started setting up the TV.
“Can we just go on YouTube and search for it?”
“Yeah, um. There’s a separate channel that broadcasts—”
Click.
And right on cue, a savior arrived to provide detailed explanations.
Though at her age and station, she came equipped with rather colorful language.
“Damn it, Park Ji-ho, have you lost your mind? Calling me out of nowhere with all this ridiculous nonsense.”
“Whoa! It’s Cha Jin-hee!”
But Park Ji-ho, unbothered, just grinned good-naturedly and handed her an iced Americano.
Payment in kind for the brutal reaming she’d given him over the phone earlier.
“You’re only a first-year. Since when do you drink coffee?”
“I have to go home and do homework.”
“Oh, you’re having a rough time of it.”
Cha Jin-hee sighed deeply and drained the Americano in one go.
Remarkably, a quarter of the cup disappeared in one gulp, and the color returned to her cheeks.
One of the friends fiddling with the remote spoke up.
“So what should we search for?”
“Oh, I’ll do it.”
Cha Jin-hee deftly navigated to the YouTube channel broadcasting today’s competition.
“But isn’t it on the public network? Why YouTube?”
“The competition actually started earlier. The Figure Skating Association broadcasts up through the women’s Group 3, but the men’s singles and women’s singles Group 4 and onward are on the public network.”
“What? There’s no such thing.”
“I know, right?”
This hour had essentially become Cha Jin-hee’s daily lecture on figure skating competition rules.
She explained passionately, even showing reference materials on her phone, though Park Ji-ho and his friends’ reactions were decidedly lukewarm.
‘Can’t be helped.’
Park Ji-ho laughed awkwardly and smacked his lips.
For him, hearing it again was bringing back memories, but the others still looked utterly confused.
The rules were complicated to begin with, and for people who didn’t know figure skating, their entire knowledge probably consisted of Lee Yu-na’s Triple Axel.
Explaining base values and component scores to such people would be about as useful as teaching a fish to climb a tree.
They were all good kids and at least made an effort to respond well, probably because Cha Jin-hee was a year younger.
It was a miracle the mood didn’t go completely flat.
“Anyway. Thanks for gathering here today. If you don’t understand something, just feel it! When in doubt, just look at what the skater’s wearing. I made it.”
“This kid keeps hammering that point.”
“My brother has been quite the burden to you. I sincerely apologize.”
“Haha, she’s getting all formal on us.”
Fortunately, the broadcast viewing began in a cheerful atmosphere.
Group 3 was currently competing.
One of the most mischievous girls in the group raised her hand.
“Professor Jin-hee, I have a question if I may.”
“Yes?”
“Is anyone doing a Triple Axel today?”
“Ah.”
Cha Jin-hee’s face nearly fell, but she forced a desperate smile.
Unfortunately, there really was one, so she couldn’t deny it.
“…My sister’s going up in the next group!”
“Oh, so that was your sister?”
“Oh my god!”
Cha Jin-hee smiled with the dead-eyed resignation of someone who’d given up on life.
Be that as it may.
Still, Cha Jin-hee’s earnest figure skating rules lesson had its intended effect.
Even if it couldn’t help them tell six different kinds of jumps apart, at least watching the competition became more enjoyable when you understood what was happening.
The moment the Group 3 competition ended, the Figure Skating Association’s YouTube stream cut off as sharply as a blade.
Then Cha Jin-hee naturally switched to a public broadcast sports channel.
Group 4 played out in full, and then the final group’s competition began.
{We will now begin the Warm-up for Group 5 of Women’s Division 1, competitors 19 through 24. Warm-up time is six minutes.}
The announcement echoed through the venue, and the broadcaster’s commentary commenced.
{Now, then. This is the Figure Skating President’s Cup Ranking. A group brimming with promising young athletes who will represent South Korea’s returning winter season.}
{Indeed. In particular, this season has seen some exceptional performances despite being only their first year as juniors. Today’s competition will reveal just what they’re capable of…}
“Her?”
“The one there—red dress, short hair.”
“Ooh!”
The middle schoolers immediately spotted the athlete Park Ji-ho had pointed out.
On screen, Kim Ha-seol glided with composure, picking up speed as she traced the Ice Rink.
And then Cha Seo-hee.
“Is that your sister?”
“…Yes.”
“Her costume is really unique, isn’t it?”
“I didn’t design that one. But it definitely screams money, doesn’t it?”
The white dress was painted with watercolor and ink-wash patterns in yellow and black.
Among those gathered—who knew only today’s intended guest and a junior who happened to be their sibling—one face was still recognizable.
“Oh? I’ve seen that athlete on the news.”
“Who? Ah, Lee Ji-su.”
So the conversation drifted toward the generation of skaters after Lee Yu-na (though really, it just kept circling back to Lee Yu-na herself).
And there it was—the six-minute practice ended and the competition began.
The first of the three to compete was.
{And now. This competitor is one of the hot topics at this President’s Cup Ranking. Cha Seo-hee takes the ice.}
{Her Short Program score was 68.17 points, placing her third. With a Triple Axel in her arsenal, she finished fourth at the Junior Grand Prix Series last week and earned silver, securing her spot in the Final.}
{The music is a medley from the animated film Magpie and Cat’s Tale OST.}
“Oh, I’ve seen that movie.”
Before anyone could barely finish their casual comment, the music began.
The opening layered traditional Korean instruments with EDM gradually, building momentum.
And the skater’s pace quickened in kind.
“Oh, beautiful.”
Soon she set herself for the first jump.
{And now, the first jump.}
She planted her left foot and kicked her right leg skyward with force!
{Triple Axel!}
{Yes, it landed today. In the Short Program she managed only a Double Axel, but today—a clean success.}
“That was a Triple Axel?”
“It’s not as impressive as I thought.”
Park Ji-ho instinctively turned to look at Cha Jin-hee.
Her face was full of unspoken words.
“Come on, still pretty cool, right? Let’s keep watching.”
She didn’t understand why she felt the urge to defend someone who wasn’t even the point of today’s gathering.
In any case, though Cha Seo-hee had landed the Triple Axel, she didn’t flash that bright smile like before.
‘What’s wrong?’
At this, Cha Jin-hee narrowed her eyes, watching her sister carefully.
What followed was a Triple Flip, a Triple Toe Loop, and a Flying Camel Spin.
“She’s pretty good.”
“…She took gold in the summer selection competition.”
“Ooooh.”
Regardless, the competition pressed on.
Since it followed senior rules, there was an extra set of Step Sequences in the Free Skate.
And Cha Seo-hee had inserted a Step Sequence where Choreography would normally appear.
Well, with the program time extended by another thirty seconds, it made sense to add something rather than coast through on just Choreography alone.
The problem, though—
‘There she goes again.’
Why did those turns keep looking so rushed lately?
She executed the jumps cleanly enough, so there was no reason for these kinds of mistakes.
It was odd to dismiss it as just showing off with the Triple Axel.
Hurried—that seemed like the right word.
“Wow, that’s really something.”
So regardless of whether the Step Sequence earned a Level 2, the middle schoolers simply applauded politely.
And so the competition entered its second half.
{Yes. The second half now, and these are the crucial jumps.}
{Triple Flip, Double Axel Combination, and…….}
Crack!
The skater on screen wobbled, barely landing the Double Axel.
{Yes, for now the Double Axel is where it ends.}
{They’ll need to make up for it afterward.}
“Why? Did they make a mistake?”
“They were supposed to add another jump after it.”
“Ah, I see.”
Cha Jin-hee watched the competition with mounting anxiety.
Deliberately pretending not to understand why she felt so tense.
It was likely because the next jump was also a combination.
{And the next jump is a combination as well.}
The skater on screen turned and took position.
{In the second half. Triple Salchow, Double Toe Loop.}
And the skater launches again.
{Ah, they’re connecting a Double Loop as well—three jumps in succession.}
“Wow, they pulled it back.”
“So do you like it or not?”
Cha Jin-hee kept her words to herself, watching the skater.
Only three elements remained now.
Layback Spin, a standalone Triple Salchow jump, and Change Foot Combination Spin.
The Returner’s Ice Rink in Gold — Episode 69
E-book Publication Date | June 5, 2026

Author | Chor Karolli
Publisher | Heo Heung-beom, Park Gun-won
Publishing House | Potent

Address | [04783] 10th Floor, 11 Yeonmujeong-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Telephone | 02-6320-8500
Fax | 02-6320-8585

UCI | G720:N+A101-20260514092.0069
List Price | 100 Won

© Chor Karolli 2026

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