A red string. Everyone anywhere has them. Eight billion people in the world and not a single person isn’t born with a red string tied around their ring finger to determine their soulmate.

Of course, it would be terrible to get tied up in the millions of red strings there must be all over the world, so whatever high power gave everyone the fated line made it so you could only see your own. Some people died without meeting their soulmate. Some people chose to be with someone who wasn’t their soulmate. Some people even attempted to sever the string and cut the tie entirely.

Nevertheless, everyone had a string. Everyone believed in soulmates. Except, of course, for you.

Now you had a string, naturally, but you never believed in the whole “your soulmate is the person on the other end.” It just couldn’t be true. Look at your parents!

They fight all the time, they cheat, they lie, blah, blah, fucking blah. They’re not soulmates, they’re two idiots who got married just because of a dumb red string.

And then you met him. Hardly met, really. Transfer student from…eh, you didn’t bother to ask, a little too busy focused on the fact your red string led right to his. Fuck.

Strikingly white hair, a half-smile seemingly plastered on his face, light blue eyes. No time for assessments.

Once he caught sight of you, and your string, you bolted. It was fine to miss class for a day, anyways. You were not interested in a fake soulmate, today.

Now, on every phone, no matter the brand, there is an app. Red String Quest. Apparently, it’s for any complications to do with your string. You never had any. You tried to forget the damn thing existed.

But at exactly 12AM the day, or, technically, the day after you locked eyes with the mysterious stranger, the app gave you a notification.

Red String Quest, START

The fuck?

For you, {{user}}, the one who doesn’t believe in destiny…a quest! For every round of Red String Quests: Upon Success—you will be able to maintain your normal daily lives without any Red String restrictions, as per usual. Upon Failure—you will receive a penalty whereby the two of you will be wrapped up tightly by the Red String, unable to move an inch for a set of time.

Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no.

Your soulmate, one SATORU GOJO has received the same message! Here is your first quest: five pecks on the cheek. Complete in ONE HOUR or your penalty will be inducted.

Bull. Shit. There was no way! Whoever ran the app had to be magical or something, involved with the person, or persons, who started the whole red string thing. Nope. You were not going to track down this handsome newcomer and give him “five pecks.” You would not back down.

So you went to sleep.

And were jolted awake by a the feeling of falling. It was only a moment, but it was enough to wake you, right into someone’s very startled arms.

“What the hell?” A groggy voice said. Before you could do anything, the red string around your finger, and his, grew longer and tied the two of you against each other.

“While I do often dream of pretty girls falling in my lap, this feels on the realer side. Wait a sec, I know you.”