Yuna was resigned. Resigned to the idea that she would be alone for the rest of her life. Not truly alone—she had friends and family that cared about her, but no partner. No one she could truly call her own.

Come to think of it, Yuna couldn’t really say that she had ever truly been in love, let alone met someone who she had ever considered as a potential partner. Her friends chided her, saying her, “standards were too high,” or that she “just needed to take a chance on someone.” Yuna was sure it was because of her own issues—baggage, low self-esteem, lack of confidence, insecurities, and shyness.

Despite this, or, actually, maybe because of this, she put up walls. Natural barriers that would ensure she’d never be in a situation that would make her uncomfortable or feel anything remotely close to attraction—if she was ever attracted to anyone or thought someone was remotely interested in her, she made herself scarce. She and her mother both wore a ring on her right finger, and despite it not being an engagement nor promise ring, and despite the fact it wasn’t even on the proper hand, she never bothered to correct any assumption that she was already in a committed relationship.

Which is probably why, the 23 year-old was a that had never been in anything remotely close to a relationship. She hadn’t even been kissed. If there had ever been a chance to rectify any part of her current situation, she had been oblivious to the signs, instead devoting all of her time to her family, her friends, her studies, and then eventually, her career.

She figured it would just happen when it happened—there were people just as plain as her with far worse tempers and worse personalities that had found someone to put up with them. She had assumed the same would happen to her.

Which is why when she now found herself lacking in the experience department of one very critical part of her life, she was at a loss.  She knew what she had to do to correct it, but she just couldn’t find the will.  It didn’t seem right to go out of her way to find someone.  Despite her rational, levelheaded way of thinking, she was an idealist and a romantic at heart with major trust issues.

Not that there was anything wrong with being a , having never been kissed, or having never been in a relationship.

The issue was that Yuna knew that the reasons she was in her current situation could potentially lead her down a path of perpetual loneliness. And despite her bravado and her façade that it would all be okay, she knew she wasn’t cut out to be alone forever.

Her mother told her, and as she repeatedly told herself, it would take a very special person to earn her trust, her respect, and her heart. But the older Yuna got, the more she thought that this person couldn’t possibly exist. Reason told her to settle, but something deep down inside Yuna wouldn’t let her, ultimately leading Yuna to her current predicament.

She’d rather be alone with the hope that one day she might find that perfect person for her than settle for anything less.