High School Return of a Gangster episode 3 & 4 recap: Did Kim Deuk-phal get his revenge on Song Yi-heon's bully Jae-min?

The new webtoon adaptation K-drama High School Return of a Gangster, starring Yoon Chan-young, Bong Jae-hyun, and Lee Seo-jin, released its first episode on May 29, 2024. The web series has garnered considerable attention among viewers despite being a low-budget project.

The plot revolves around gangster Kim Deuk-phal (Lee Seo-jin), who is the second-in-command of a mafia gang, who accidentally switches his body with a 19-year-old high school kid, Song Yi-heon (Yoon Chan-young).

Song Yi-heon gets severely bullied at school despite being born into a wealthy family. With a strained relationship with his estranged father, the Chairman of OK Construction, and living with an absent and alcoholic mother, Yi-heon is a loner. He gets bullied in school, is labeled a stalker, and is mentally abused by his father's secretary. He decides to end his life by jumping off a bridge when Kim Deuk-phal comes to his rescue.

However, while trying to save Yi-heon, Deuk-phal gets hit by a truck and his spirit enters Yi-heon's body. The story then moves ahead as Deuk-phal learns more about Yi-heon's tormented life and decides to protect him by getting revenge on his bullies and the chairman's secretary, Lee Mi-kyung. High School Return of a Gangster released episodes 3 and 4 on June 5, 2024, which showcased his brawl with his bully Jae-min.

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High School Return of a Gangster episode 3 & 4 shows Deuk-phal living as Yi-heon and seeking revenge

In High School Return of a Gangster, 47-year-old gangster Kim Deuk-phal was about to become the mafia clan's leader. However, his lack of educational background was a matter of concern for the gang boss Seo Chil-sung (Lee Kyoung-young). Seo Chil-sung advises Deuk-phal to complete his education and clear the CSAT before taking his throne as the new gang leader

But everything changes when Deuk-phal saves 19-year-old Song Yi-heon (Yoon Chan-young, All of Us Are Dead) from a su*cide attempt. Although Deuk-phal body gets cremated as a result, his soul enters Yi-heon's body and takes control accidentally. It takes a little longer for Deuk-phal to adjust to Yi-heon's considerably weaker body, but his usual opponents are caught off guard by his new carefree attitude.

Along the way, he meets Choi Se-kyung (Bong Jae-hyun, Twinkling Watermelon), who is shocked that his timid and docile classmate Yi-heon has developed a new robust behavior. High School Return of a Gangster episode 3 picks up from where the previous episode left—Deuk-phal engaging in a physical confrontation with his bullies. Deuk-phal mops the floor with Jae-min and his lackeys and warns them against bullying any other student on campus.

Jae-min and his gang are shocked to see Yi-heon fight so well as nobody knows the secret of Yi-heon's soul getting changed by a gangster named Kim Deuk-phal (Lee Seo-jin). Meanwhile, Se-kyung witnesses the brawl between Yi-heon and Jae-min and suspects Yi-heon to be a doppelganger. He refuses to believe Yi-heon's identity and sends a strand of his hair—which he acquired from Yi-heon's residence along with his mother's hair strand—for DNA testing.

Despite the DNA result coming with a 99.99% match between Yi-heon and his mother, Se-kyung is unaware of Yi-heon's secret and grows more suspicious of him. Meanwhile, Deuk-phal (in Yi-heon's body) is wary of Se-kyung's growing suspicions but decides to ask for his help in his studies and clear the exams.

As they spend more time together, they form a unique friendship, with Deuk-phal promising to protect Yi-heon and bring him back. It's worth noting that Yi-heon's soul has been missing throughout all four episodes of High School Return of a Gangster, leaving Deuk-phal and viewers in the dark about what happened to him.

In High School Return of a Gangster episode 4, the story progresses as Yi-heon's father's secretary, Lee Mi-kyung, hires gangsters to abduct Yi-heon's mother. The goons fail in their attempt as Deuk-phal (Yi-heon) and Se-kyung arrive at Yi-heon's home at the right time and get into a fight. Meanwhile, Se-kyung notices that one of the goons is Jae-min—Yi-heon's bully—who runs away from the scene.

Jae-min later confronts Deuk-phal and confesses that he was unaware of Yi-heon's mother's kidnapping and tells him that he was the one to file the anonymous police report to protect Yi-heon's mother. Deuk-phal, who has been masquerading as Yi-heon since episode 1 of High School Return of a Gangster, asks Jae-min to tell him everything about the goons.

After Jae-min reveals everything, Deuk-phal realizes that his abduction was orchestrated by his most trusted assistant, Dong-soo. The episode then shows a brief about how Dong-soo took over Kim Deuk-phal's place in the gang after his death. Although Dong-soo is completely unaware of Deuk-phal's spirit surviving inside Song Yi-heon's body, the episode shows him getting emotional reminiscing about his days as Deuk-phal's right hand.

In the last few minutes of episode 4, Deuk-phal decides to meet Dong-soo and gets kidnapped by some goons. Deuk-phal gets taken to a remote location with a black bag on his head and finds himself standing in front of Dong-soo—his oldest comrade and the new leader of the gang.

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High School Return of a Gangster episode 5 will reveal how Deuk-phal as Song Yi-heon negotiates with Dong-soo—who doesn't know the 19-year-old high school student's real identity—to bring Lee Mi-kyung, his father's secretary, to him. The episode will be released on June 12, 2024.

High School Return of a Gangster is available for streaming on Viu, TVING, Wavve, and Watcha every Wednesday at 14:00.

DISCLAIMER: If you have su*cidal thoughts, or you know someone who is, help is available. For India, dial +91-9820466726 for the “AASRA Befrienders Worldwide/Samaritans”. In the US, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.