The King: Eternal Monarch Episode 4 Recap

Koo Seo-ryung, the youngest and first female prime minister of the Kingdom of Corea arrives at the palace in hopes of catching the king's absence. If she can prove that the King hasn't been in his study like they've been claiming then she'll have leverage on him. Her agenda has always been political power and marketing herself as the king's "woman" for personal gains. Court Lady Noh tries to stop her outside King Lee Gon's room but she pushes herself through.

As Prime Minister Koo barges into the King's room, she shockingly pauses as she comes face to face with King Lee Gon and Captain Jo Yeong. She admits that she came just to check if he's missing, but tests his patience by boldly stating he's now indebted to her. King Lee Gon educates her that as the King he'll never be indebted to her because his absence will be minor in the history books. Court Lady Noh mentions to King Lee Gon that it seems Prime Minister Koo has a spy in the palace.

King Lee Gon returned home just in time to attend a military funeral for the father of his superior in the army. Since all of his military colleagues will be there, it's a great chance to show he's alive and well. Unfortunately, he'll have to endure wearing a button-up and tie. The trauma from when he was choked and pierced by the flute as a child causes him to suffocate whenever anything touches his neck. The driver taking the king back to the palace notices him gasping for air while removing his tie, but Captain Jo tells him to just focus on driving for the King's safety. Captain Jo requests for King Lee Gon's cellphone to install a GPS tracker on his phone. He tells the King he was almost fired because the King "kept staying in the study." King Lee Gon smirks and tells him he's lying, but hands over his phone anyway.

Prime Minister Koo approaches Prince Buyeong (King Lee Gon's uncle) at a cafe. She questions the prince regarding the king's whereabouts. He tells her that the king doesn't come out for days and weeks whenever he begins studying mathematics. She starts asking him personal questions surrounding his family. Although Prince Buyeong was once the son of the king, four generations of his family aren't allowed to be involved in politics or hold important titles. All of his children and grandchildren must also live abroad. Although people are jealous of the royal family, isn't this quite unfair for him. Prince Buyeong clarifies that he's never thought about it and that class disparity will always exist. She wasn't amused by their conversation but lets him in on her backup plan. Just sitting there together in a public setting will make it seem like he has her back.

King Lee Gon visits his uncle, Prince Buyeong at his office with gifts. Prince Buyeong asks the king if he had fun on his travels. King Lee Gon mentions that his favorite photo is of them together with Court Lady Noh holding hands surrounded by cherry blossoms during an elementary school field trip. King Lee Gon asks the prince if he hates him. His father's illegitimate brother kills him and even tries to strangle King Lee Gon causing the prince's family to be forced to live abroad. He's curious if his father's cousin is on his side. Prince Buyeong asks how he can prove his loyalty because he couldn't kill his kids so he forbade them from coming back until the day they die. King Lee Gon tells the Prince that he trusts and truly admires him, so don't hide anything from him. The king hands Prince Buyeong traitor Lee Lim's autopsy report that he signed off in the past.

In the Republic of Korea, Detective Kang Shin-jae comes across his mother's large purse filled with money. He goes directly to the illegal gambling house with his mother and fellow detective Jang-mi (Jang Michael). When they arrive at the location, more than thirty people are placing large bets at a table. Detective Kang pleads with his mother that she needs to quit because he can't be a policeman if she's going around illegally gambling. She couldn't hear anything he was saying and was too focused on her winnings. He makes the tough decision to try to snap his mother out of her addiction by leaving her behind when more police arrive to arrest everyone.

Lieutenant Jung Tae-eul accidentally drops her name badge down the sewer. The forensics team looked into the 100,000 won bill that she confiscated from King Lee Gon and determined it is completely real even the watermark. She explains to Lieutenant Jung that although it's crazy, the proportion of noil, ink, and anti-forgery methods are all identical. Lieutenant Jung Tae-eul continues to search for traces of King Lee Gon. There are only videos of him riding Maximus to the bamboo forest but nothing else.

Traitor Lee Lim gets word from his source that the king has returned. He believes that his nephew is finally standing before the legend. During this time, King Lee Gon retrieves the Four Tiger Sword from where it was last left in the chambers his father was killed. His father once told him that only the king can become the owner of the Four Tiger Sword.

While Captain Jo was walking towards King Lee Gon, time suddenly stopped again for the second time. The king attempts to count how many seconds go by before time starts again. Captain Jo tells the king he'll call a doctor for him after hearing the crazy story about parallel worlds and time stopping. That night, the king's web-like scar appears on his shoulder again and shocks him with pain. Captain Jo thought that he was faking it, but went to call the doctor when he saw the scar. King Lee Gon took this opportunity to escape his room and cross back through the portal to the Republic of Korea.

Detective Kang Shin-jae gives Lieutenant Jung her new ID badge card. It was just issued earlier that day, November 11, 2019. Lieutenant Jung panics as she realizes her new ID badge was issued with the exact date as the one King Lee Gon found 25 years ago. Just then, she receives a phone call from the king and runs off to go meet him. She rushes to the front of her home where she sees King Lee Gon and Maximus waiting for her.

With things starting to lean further away from reality, Lieutenant Jung questions the king again about his whereabouts and why he returned. King Lee Gon tells her he needed to pay back some money he borrowed and was also wondering if she was doing alright. However, he must now leave back to his world since he snuck out this time. She asks him if he has a house and to describe her picture on the ID card he has. When she took the new ID picture she had to change her outfit last minute so there's no way the two cards would match. King Lee Gon describes the photo exactly with her wearing a navy jacket and hair tied up. He asks her if she'd like to see for herself by coming with him back to the Kingdom of Corea in his world. King Lee Gon lifts her onto Maximus as they ride back to the bamboo forest and enter through the portal. Once they arrive on the other side, Captain Jo and the royal guards are standing there waiting for him.