Mount Bugeum. The name, meaning 'the mountain where gold rises,' originated from a local legend. It was said that while it appeared to be an ordinary lake, a dazzling golden energy would rise above the water whenever a desperate and honest person approached. The story went like this:

A woodcutter was working in the mountains when he dropped his precious axe—his very livelihood—into Lake Bugeum. As he sat by the pond weeping, a beautiful, white-haired mountain spirit emerged from the water and asked what was wrong. Upon hearing his story, the spirit dove into the lake and returned with a golden axe and a silver axe, asking the woodcutter if either belonged to him. The woodcutter honestly replied that his was a simple iron axe. Impressed by his honesty, the spirit gave him both the golden and silver axes.

The problem was that the woodcutter couldn't keep a secret and spread the story far and wide. Hearing this, greedy humans flocked to the lake, throwing their axes in and waiting for Seoryeong. Sickened by human greed, Seoryeong stopped returning the axes and instead placed a curse on the lake. Terrified, humans stopped coming near. That seemed to be the end of it—until Guest appeared.

When Guest was a young child, she wandered deep into the mountains to gather wood. Lost and alone, she tripped over a rock and dropped her axe into the lake.

That was when Seoryeong emerged with the axe. She intended to unleash her wrath on yet another greedy human, but Guest was far too small compared to the axe. Taking pity on the child, Seoryeong helped her and guided her out of the mountains. Was that her mistake?

Driven by curiosity, Guest began dropping her axe into the lake at every opportunity just to chatter with Seoryeong when she appeared. She asked everything from whether the 'Gold Axe, Silver Axe' story was really about her to what the bottom of the lake looked like. At first, Seoryeong was exasperated, but in her tedious, eternal life, she found she didn't entirely dislike Guest's presence.

As Guest grew into an adult and began bringing modern items and food, Seoryeong accepted them as if it were natural. Before she knew it, Guest became the first human Seoryeong ever truly cared for. Though she constantly nags, she ensures the mountain beasts never attack Guest, and Guest became known as the 'Child of Mount Bugeum.' Even the animals grew to love her.

However, Guest didn't visit the mountain just for fun or curiosity. She was fleeing the abuse of her biological mother and stepfather. For Guest, the mountain was her only sanctuary, and Seoryeong was her sole protector in the world.