Duty After School (2023) Episode 4

Duty After School episode 4 starts with the trucks on an open road driving to their next destination. The students are tired and scared, some crying and others sleepy. As usual, Soon-Yi is crying for her mom and Jang-soo wonders if their parents are safe at their shelters. As they are separated into two trucks, they wonder who made it and pray that the other team is safe.

One truck gets into an accident after a sphere kills the soldier driving. The students get out of the car and realize So-yeon has been hurt. Soon-Yi also has a minor scratch on her leg but she acts as if she is dying or her leg has been amputated. Such a drama queen!

They are also out of ammunition and So-yeon’s condition is deteriorating. The students wonder what they should do. They argue about whether they should stay put or find cover. Young-Shin reads the map and says that the shelter they were heading to is 20 km away. The students agree that it is too far to walk considering that they have So-Yeon and the blazing heat.

Hee-rak thinks they should stay by the roadside and wait to be rescued while Chi-Yeol thinks they should look for shelter nearby. As expected a fight ensues as Hee-rak wants things to go his way. Young-shin agrees that some should wait while others look for a shelter nearby.

The other truck makes it to the shelter and  Lieutenant Lee is worried to find out that the other truck has not arrived yet.  The students are also concerned given that the truck left ahead of them. In the shelter, they see more bodies being collected and they worry even more. They spend their time in a tent waiting for the other truck and worrying about their fate. Yoo-Jung begs Lieutenant Lee to make sure the other team arrives at the camp too.

Meanwhile,  the other team discover a house nearby and move to find cover. They carry So-yeon and Soon-Yi insists she can’t walk too because of the minor bruising on her knees. Soo-Cheol offers to carry her and they head to the shelter.  Young-shin also remembers to leave a mark pointing to the direction they took in case a rescue team is sent.

Back at the camp,  Lieutenant Lee begs his superior to allow them to use a car and rescue the other kids but his request is turned down. Kim Won-bin helps him to steal the keys to a truck and the students except Young-Soo chose to go with him.   Lieutenant Lee only learns that the students followed him when he has already left the camp. Kim Won-bin also stays behind in case things go sideways.

The abandoned team find the shelter and they ransack it for food and medical supplies. They do their best to treat So-yeon with the medicine they find but her wound gets infected and her fever gets worse. Hee-rak also finds some bottles of liquid nitrogen but doesn’t think much of it.  They also find a small truck in the garage but none of them knows how to drive it.

As for food, Joon-Hee finds a packet of ramen but decides to hide it and eat it herself. In the end, the students feel angry and dismayed that they didn’t find much.

Joon-Hee pretends to go to the toilet and hides to enjoy the ramen. She spots a sphere and screams her lungs out while rushing to the house. The others who were outside also run inside the house and close the door. The sphere tries to get in through the ventilator so they hide in the other room and make sure all windows are locked.

The students wonder how many spheres are there and they check to find that there is only one. It dawns on them that the spheres are more clever than they thought. It has been waiting for them to leave the house and knows there is only one way out. It is also sensitive to sounds and knows when humans are around. They are also disappointed that Joon-Hee ate the ramen alone.

Night soon rolls by, and So-yeon’s condition gets worse. Chi-Yeol offers to go to the others in the second room and open the window for them. The sphere follows when he goes to the garage to grab some tools. Luckily, he manages to fight it off and return to the house.

Young-shin comes up with a plan to trick the sphere into believing that they are still inside the house. They turn on the TV and play a movie. They escape through the window and make it to the garage where the truck is. They try to move as quietly as possible but the sphere soon realizes they are outside and moves to attack them.

They lock themselves in the garage and try to look for the car keys. They eventually find it but Hee-rak fails to drive the car as he didn’t know it wasn’t automatic. A fight ensues and the key is thrown out of reach. While they try to get the keys back, they notice the sphere is about to get in through the roof. They decide that one of them should remain behind to distract the sphere while the others drive off. Young-shin believes their best bet is So-yeon but they decide to play fair and leave it to luck.

They play a game and it lands on Hee-rak but Jang-soo offers to take his place. The rest remain behind, ready to get on the truck.

The episode ends with Jang-soo’s first video message. It was a short message where he assured his parents that he is fine and hoped they are well too. Chi-Yeol forced him to say more and he shares a pearl of wisdom his dad taught him when he was drunk. This was why he made the decision to sacrifice himself

The Episode Review

It is clear why the students chose Young-shin to be their vice president. He is clever and always willing to help. Jang-soo is also a natural-born leader and I hope he makes it to the next episode. Chi-yeol is also stepping up and doing what is necessary to help others.

I think the war has helped most of these students grow but Soon-yi gets on my nerves with her cry-baby behaviour. She is selfish and self-absorbed. If So-yeon who was badly injured and willing to walk, why did she with a minor bruise ask to be carried? I have no patience and find her insufferable.