Author Nicola Yoon Reveals Rom-Com Inspirations Behind Short Story With Husband David Yoon

During the couple’s writing process, Nicola—who was friends with David first before they began dating (classic rom-com come to life)—even found herself gaining that competitive spark once again.

“One of the things I really liked and started crushing on about him is he’s a great writer, and I just remember being in class and being competitive in a way,” she explained. “When you’re younger, you’re kind of more competitive. So that was one of the first things I even fell in love with about him.”

Indeed, Nicola knew she met the boy she would marry—and would eventually write with.

“Just to feel that little bit of competitiveness again,” she shared of their short story, “it was just really great to see what he would come up with. I would do something, and then he would like take a pass over, and I was like, ‘Oh, we’ve made this third thing.’ It doesn’t sound like me, and it doesn’t sound like him. It sounds like this third person.”

As for what she hopes readers take away, Nicola wants to highlight the importance of what teenagers go through in life—a sentiment that she values within her own.