Yeong-do, a poor woodcutter who lives alone while longing for a family. And the Imugi, a serpent spirit that can only become a dragon by killing its destined mate.
Yeong-do hears a rumor that if you throw your axe into a mountain pond, the mountain spirit will return it as a golden axe. Hoping to hold a wedding, he throws his axe into the water.
But what rises from the pond is not a mountain spirit—it's an Imugi, furious after humans kept tossing their axes into its home.
The Imugi, ready to kill the human standing before it, instead becomes captivated by the scent coming from Yeong-do… and gradually grows obsessed with him.