DISCLAIMER: I can't speak Korean but I can read and understand the basics thanks to the kdramas and Korean variety shows I've watched for more than a decade. I've also backed this observation with research, but please correct me if I got it wrong!
I want to highlight Jumin's speech style in Korean that might get lost in translation. He has a very respectful and poetic manner of speaking and it shows in his preferred terms of endearment for you. Jumin often calls you 나의 그대 (naeui geudae) which means my dear or my love. In Korean, geudae is typically spoken in 2 settings. One, you can use it to refer to someone you deeply respect. Two, it's a poetic way to address your lover in songs, literature or historical era, so you don't hear this word being used in everyday speech.
Compared to 자기야 (jagiya) which means honey and is also what Zen likes to say casually and lovingly to you, geudae is more elegant and romantic.
On the 11th day phone call, Jumin even starts his love declaration with 사랑하는 그대 (saranghaneun geudae) and it translates to something like dear you, my beloved, which actually has more depth than naeui geudae. I guess it would sound unnatural if Cheritz put the literal translation here, so they simplified it instead.
I think this little semantic detail adds nuance to Jumin's character, so it's a shame it can't be captured through English alone.
Excuse me while I cry trying to explain this with my limited Korean vocabulary. Google translate did NOT help. Apparently it doesn't understand aegyo.
Remember this honey bunny tidbit from Jumin's day 11 chatroom? I've always found it odd due to how random it is, so I went to see what goes on in the Korean chat and turns out Jumin and you are having a full-blown baby-talk session!
Let me present you the literal translation for the Korean counterpart:
MC: woori jyagi wajjyeong? (is our honey here?)
Han Jumin: wajjyeo? (here?)
Han Jumin: ah...
Han Jumin: geureon uimigun (so that's what it means)
Zen: mwoya...;; (what the...;;)
Han Jumin: wajjiyeom (your honey is here)
This is where it gets interesting. In Korean, baby-talking is called aegyo and is often deemed cute (or cringe depending on your taste). When you talk in aegyo, you add an extra sound of -m or -ng at the end of your word, like calling your older boyfriend 오빠 (oppa) as 오빵 (oppang). You can also modify them, like turning 자기 (jagi) to 쟈기 (jyagi). Aegyo is usually spoken in a high-pitched voice and aided with cutesy gestures. It's something you do for fun with your friends, significant others or people you feel comfortable with.
Now, we all know Jumin is a no-nonsense person who's not well-versed in modern culture, albeit he has shown interest in it. The closest comparison to him practicing aegyo would be talking like Yoosung—Yoosung uses a lot of aegyo either when he's whining or happy, and honestly he's adorable for it.
Click here to watch the example of aegyo. If you skip to 0:51 you can see how woori jyagi is spoken in real life.
THE EXPLANATION
In the chat above, you start the conversation by aegyo-fying your question of whether Jumin has come to the chatroom. The normal way of asking it would be 주민씨 왔어요? (jumin-ssi wasseoyo?)
There are multiple layers to this. First, the usage of woori jyagi, which directly translates to our honey indicates affectionate possession. You can say 내 자기 (nae jagi) to mean my honey, but for the sake of aegyo, woori is used and jagi is turned to jyagi, as per the example before.
Second, you turn 왔어요 (wasseoyo) to 와쪙 (wajjyeong), which Jumin repeats out of confusion. When he catches on, he verbalises his realisation in his usual speaking style, but Zen is already like "what the heck?" because the mere sight of Jumin mimicking baby-talk is freaking him out LOL.
Then as the grand finale bam bam, Jumin plays along by answering you with 와찌염 (wajjiyeom) instead of 왔어 (wasseo).* From the context, you can glean that he refers to himself in third person, which is what acting cute is all about.
*If you're wondering about the difference between -jjyeong and -jjiyeom, it's because the former is phrased as a question while the latter is an answer.
This whole exchange is very funny that I cracked up the first time I read it. I couldn't believe Jumin would actually say that.
So yeah, you just baby-talked to him and he did it back. Now imagine Jumin doing aegyo in that deep voice of his, complete with a poker face and a mischievous glint in his eyes. Can you? Because I so can and therefore need a live demonstration ASAP to confirm my imagination.
I'm obsessed with finding proofs that Jumin is empathetic and considerate, not the cold jerk that haters like to label him as.
Jumin has:
Given Yoosung job security by telling him he's welcome to work at C&R any time
Encouraged Yoosung to widen his horizon by gaining new experiences to find something that he truly likes
Been understanding with Yoosung's struggle to find an interest and suggested him to find an external motivation, which in this case, is MC
Further empathised by explaining that he understands the anxiety of being alone, thereby making Yoosung feels less alone
Jumin is a good friend, and I like how he never talks down to Yoosung despite his position and experience. Yoosung is lost and Jumin gives advice from an empathetic stance. It shows how mature he really is when the situation calls for it.
Idk man I think it's sweet of Jumin to be the one suggesting this idea to Saeyoung, a step that will be pivotal in his route.
How he's clearly concerned about MC throughout the hacker and bomb extravaganza, to the point that he flies back home instead of closing an important business deal just so that he can be physically there for MC.
And how he's on standby when MC and Saeyoung are breaking into Mint-Eye, worrying and already prepared with the resources to help.
Cheritz you have my eternal gratitude for creating him.
If Rika didn’t give Jumin Elizabeth the 3rd, would he have loved cats the way he does now..?
Probably not, since what makes Elizabeth the 3rd special to Jumin is because he projects his unresolved feelings and trauma onto her; she's what Rika could've been to him if she wasn't with Jihyun. Even then, we all know that kind of obsession isn't healthy, and I will never forgive Rika for pushing Jumin to displace his loneliness onto a cat instead of encouraging him to work through his issues.
If all of that never happened, I think Jumin would keep repressing everything inside without finding a healthy outlet, and honestly both situations are sad. Even when he has his best friend, the said best friend is unable to be his support system and the RFA doesn't hold an emotionally safe space for him, so he doesn't know how to feel anything deeply without going haywire.
Would he, under his own will, look for a cat to be his emotional outlet when he's never been introduced to the idea of making your pet your "friend"? I doubt it. Would he be better off without it, considering the suffocating loneliness he has to live with? I doubt it too.
If nothing else, Jumin would turn to wine as the last resort, and could be in danger of becoming an alcoholic when the situation grows unbearable.
