“Thank you,” I said.
“I will eat well,” Killian said back.
I lifted my brows. “Another piece of etiquette?”
“Don't worry about it, Ambassador,” Ji-woon said. “We understand.”
“That doesn't mean I can't learn about the culture while I'm here,” I said. “I'm not so busy that I can't be respectful.”
Ji-woon grinned brilliantly at me. “That is a lovely attitude to have and will be appreciated here.”
“Koreans always thank the person who prepares their meal,” Killian said. “Usually, that person will say, 'Enjoy the food' or something like that. Then you are supposed to reply, ‘I will eat well.' It's implied that you're eating well because of their cooking. It's a compliment. Like saying, 'This looks good.' And then at the end of the meal, you say that you've eaten well, confirming that the meal was satisfying.”
“Ah. I see,” I said.
“'Mani deuseyo' or 'masitge deusyo' are said before a meal. They translate to 'eat a lot' and eat deliciously,' but they are both akin to bon appetite,” Hunter Ji-woon said. “Then 'jal meokgetseumnida' is said, meaning 'I will eat well' and 'meogeotseumnida' is said after the meal, meaning 'I ate well.'”
“All right.” I held up my hands in surrender. “I will try my best, but don't expect me to pick up Korean.”
Hunter Ji-soon laughed, displaying some feline canines. “I thought since you wanted to learn about the culture, hearing the words would help you to remember the etiquette if we're out.”
“What are the most helpful words for me to learn?” I asked, then took a bite of pancake.
“Probably annyeonghaseyo and gamsahabnida. That's hello and thank you.”
“Say them again, please. Much slower. Because what I heard was say-mo-say-oh and come-sa-deeya. I don't think those are right.”
“On-young-ha-say-O,” Ji-woon pronounced it slowly. “Yes, we do speak rather quickly, but so do most Americans. I felt as baffled as you when I was learning English. Everyone spoke so rapidly, squishing together words.”
“And now you know that you folks do it too.”
“Yes.” He nodded. “Have you got it?”
“On-young-ha-say-O,” I said slowly. Then sped it up and added a Korean accent, “Annyeonghaseyo.”
Ji-woon clapped. “Well done!”
“Are you teaching the Ambassador Korean?” Hunter Chung-ae asked in delight as he took a chair beside the couch, a coffee cup in his hand.
The ice in it jingled, and I tried not to make a face. I liked my coffee hot, sweet, and creamy.
“Just hello and thank you,” Ji-woon said. “I gave her the phrases for appreciating a meal but that was a little too much to start with.”
“Ah.” Chung-ae nodded.
“Do the thank you for me,” I said.
“Oh! Okay,” Ji-woon inclined his head. The hunters often made those little bows, similar to the Japanese tradition, but notquite so deep. “It is pronounced, kahm-sa-ha-me-da.” He sped it up, “Gamsahabnida.”
“Come-sah-ha-me-da,” I said.
“Almost. Kahm, not come.”
“Kahm-sah-ha-me-da.”
“Yes.”
“Kahm-sah-hamida.” This one took a few more tries. I said it two more times before I got, ”Gamsahabnida.”
