High School: Return of a Gangster – Episode 4 Recap & Review

The Kidnapping

High School: Return of a Gangster episode  4 starts with Se-kyung and Yi-heon walking home together. Unfortunately, when they arrive at Yi-heon’s house, they find a kidnapping in progress. The Dong-soo gang, with the help of Jae-min, tries to kidnap Yi-heon’s mom, but he and Se-kyung bravely fight them off. At the same time, Jae-min flees after seeing that things are not going as planned. Shortly after that, the police arrive at the scene, and the gang members run away.

Yi-heon’s mom is rushed to the hospital, and Se-kyung hangs back to help. He is surprised when Yi-heon tries to subtly bribe the police when that fails; Yi-heon denies the attempted kidnapping. He tells the police that there was a misunderstanding and drunk gang members illegally parked the unidentified van outside his house.

When Se-kyung asks why Yi-heon lied to the police, the latter says police involvement will only complicate his life. However, Yi-heon is clear that he will fight back on his terms and protect his mom from Mi-kyung. She is the only one capable of pulling such a stunt.

Se-kyung heads home and lies to his dad about how he got injured. He says a gang on the street attacked him. Myung-hyun is quick to take him back to the scene of the supposed crime but finds no evidence of a struggle. He gets angry at Se-kyung for lying to him, and the kid faints from the stress of anticipating a punishment.

Se-kyung’s mom calls after hearing of her son’s condition and warns Myung-hyun to stop being so hard on Se-kyung. However, Myung-hyun insists that Se-kyung is weak and he is only doing his best as a father to raise him well.

Unfortunately, Se-kyung feels helpless, especially after seeing how Yi-heon protects his family and others. Se-kyung can’t help but admire his friend and feel sad that he can’t save himself.

The next day, Yi-heon drops by the police station before school and gives his official statement. The police agree to drop the case. Meanwhile, Yi-heon turns his focus on Mi-kyung and tries to find a way to reach her.

Unfortunately, that sly woman operates like a ninja, making it hard to reach her. She has different phone numbers, and Yi-heon can’t just show up at the company and demand to see her.  In the meantime, Yi-heon hires guards to protect his mom at the house.

Elsewhere, the Dong-soo gang meets with Mi-kyung and updates her on the failed mission. Dong-soo promises to finish the job abd teach Jae-min a lesson for abandoning the gang during a mission. Speaking of Jae-min, he senses he is in trouble and goes into hiding, failing to attend classes.

Other students worry that Yi-heon got into a fight with Jae-min and hurt him. Nonetheless, most of them remain friendly towards him. They even hype him up when he brags about how good he is in sports and fighting. 

As the day goes by, Yi-heon continues to make more friends and get close to Se-kyung. Later that night, he meets with Se-kyung and notices that the latter has been biting his nails. He starts to worry that Se-kyung is having trouble at home. They head to the study room for a while and take a break. During the study break, Se-kyung explains he lied to his dad to protect Yi-heon.

On the other hand, Yi-heon apologises for getting him into trouble. To cheer Se-kyung up, he gives him a few fighting lessons. Back at Se-kyung’s house, Myung-hyun starts looking into Yi-heon and decides he is not a good influence on his son. 

The night deepens, and Se-kyung takes Yi-heon home. They are surprised to find Jae-min lurking in the shadows. Jae-min was hoping to find out if the kidnapping got reported and if the police were after him. He is surprised to learn that Yi-heon lives there. 

Yi-heon and Se-kyung take him to a cafe but he refuses to admit the real reason he was snooping. After realising Jae-min has been starving, Yi-heon offers to take him to his place and feed him.

Out of concern, Se-kyung insists on tagging along. He then decides to sleep over at Yi-heon’s place when Jae-min shamelessly asks to stay. Even though Yi-heon is still angry with everything Jae-min and his bully friends did, he is kind.

He offers Jae-min a chance to stay for only one night and makes it clear they are not friends. He still plans to make Jae-min and his goons pay for his past mistakes.

Later, Se-kyung confronts Jae-min and asks why he is pretending he isn’t part of the gangsters. He threatens to throw Jae-min off the balcony, and Yi-heon overhears the conversation. He confronts Jae-min and demands to know everything about the gang.

Yi-heon is still unaware that the gang in question is Dong-soo’s. The men wore masks, and he never saw their faces.  However, he learns the truth after interrogating Jae-min.

The next day, the three boys attend school together, and Se-kyung continues to explain his displeasure with Jae-min. At the same time, he continues to look into Yi-heon, wondering if he might have a split personality.

Away from the school drama, Dong-soo admits to Jong-cheol that he is feeling conflicted about his plans for the gang. However, they must complete the task as he gave his word to Mi-kyung. After the evening classes, Yi-heon excuses himself and tells Se-kyung that he has to meet someone. The scene shifts to Yi-heon being captured and brought before Dong-soo.

The Episode Review

Se-kyung has started being a real friend to Yi-heon and it is a great thing to witness. Even though he has his doubts about Yi-heon, he still chooses to protect and help him. However, Myung-hyun won’t approve of this friendship, and he will come after Yi-heon if Se-kyung continues to hang out with him.  On a different note, can we talk about how hot Bong Jae Hyun is when he talks English? We are loving every second of his feistiness and praying for more!

It is interesting to get to know Jae-min more. We assumed he was a young man who enjoyed bullying and was fearless, but he is a selfish coward with a sad backstory. However, he is learning, and it will take some time before he earns forgiveness.

There is still room for redemption for him in our books and Yi-heon’s. We only hope he won’t mess up again and get into more trouble. 

Lastly, will Yi-heon be able to protect himself and his family from Dong-soo? Why is Dong-soo working for  Mi-kyung and what happened to Chil-sung? We hope to find out in the next episode.