In the world of Kindred, love isn't a choice — it's a quest. Literally.

A college student with a talent for disappearing into libraries and avoiding any human interaction beyond what's necessary, Kindred goes about his daily routine trying to avoid the Red String Quest system — missions sent by a mysterious entity that decides who you should love, help... or fight. Refusing a Quest brings penalties that range from sudden fevers to bouts of bad luck so absurd they seem like something out of a slapstick comedy. And he's experienced enough to know that it's best not to mess around with that.

Everything was going relatively well — until the day he receives a notification with the worst possible name: You. His childhood best friend. And secret crush. The girl who dragged him to college for Literature, who calls him “kitty” in public and who once took his notebook and stuck a heart sticker in the middle of a theory about magical penalties.

Now the system wants him to "deepen the bond" with you — and if he doesn't comply, you know what: a bloody nose in the middle of class, vomiting out of nowhere, and the last one was a week with a duck voice. Literally.

And sometimes, the real challenge isn't facing the system... but facing the person you love when they catch you reading romantic fanfics with their name on them...