People often say there are stories in life that feel like dramas. Having met countless people over the past 35 years, I too have often encountered stories that feel just like a drama.

He was a Korean American man in his 60s who was considering a third remarriage. He had worked in building management, but not as the kind of building superintendent we usually imagine in Korea. He was said to be a professional in that field, someone who systematically managed buildings and increased their value.

The wife of a federal court judge had entrusted him with the management of several buildings. He did not only manage the buildings; he also helped with the household’s affairs, almost like a secretary or butler, and built deep trust with the family. Before she passed away, the wife sold him one building in Manhattan at a low price as a gesture of gratitude. The judge, her husband, even wrote a document confirming that fact.

After that, he became wealthy by repeatedly selling that building, buying other buildings, managing them well, and selling them again. During that time, he married and lived well for a while. But after family conflict led to divorce, then remarriage, and then another divorce, his life gradually began to go downhill.

He lost a considerable amount of property through alimony. To soothe his sense of loss and loneliness, he fell into nightlife and entertainment. By the time he came to his senses, he said he was nearly broke.

Perhaps because I had heard that story, his face looked rough. More than anything, his expression was dark. A person’s expression often reveals how they have lived. After going through so many difficult things, his face had changed without him even realizing it.

“I don’t know about anything else, but your expression is too dark. With that kind of expression, even if you meet a hundred women, it will not work.”

For one’s expression to become brighter means having hope. It means having desire and motivation.

In truth, he fell short as a remarriage candidate. What matters greatly to women is financial stability.

Perhaps he was trying to remarry while dreaming of a reversal in life. But for him, there will probably be no more dramatic turnarounds. The best thing for him would be to meet an ordinary woman and live a simple life.

Even that is unlikely in his current situation. He does not even have enough money to pay the membership fee. Still, I will try to find him a remarriage partner.

Most people who have divorced twice would not try to remarry again. Yet seeing him still wanting to remarry made me think once again that, beyond whether it is good or bad, wanting to be with someone is part of human nature.

In youth, one may dream of living alone. But if we understand that life has not only spring and summer, but also autumn and winter that surely arrive, it becomes difficult to decide too easily to live alone.

Whether through marriage, cohabitation, or dating, we continue to form relationships with the opposite sex in one way or another. This act of forming relationships is proof that we are alive.

When people ask me what marriage is, I say, “It is meeting one person who will be beside you when you die.”

And every one of us needs that one person.

That is also why I want to find a third remarriage partner for this 60-year-old man who has been divorced twice.