Behind the Scenes of 'The Him I Loved, The Him Who Loved Me': How Writing Together Created an Unexpected Story

July 8th (Wed), the deadline for the 2026 Creative Awards. On the night the note festival came to a close, Yuki Yadorigi and Dai Igarashi opened Zoom and shared a drink through their screens.

This time, the two of them submitted a novel titled "The Him I Loved, The Him Who Loved Me" to the romance novel category. The two of them... that's right, it's a collaboration.

In this article, we will share some of the behind-the-scenes stories told during their wrap-up party.

For those who have already read the main story, we hope you'll think, "So that's how they wrote it," and for those who haven't, we hope you'll wonder, "What kind of story is it?." We haven't included any specific plot points or spoilers. If you're curious, please give it a read.

It was supposed to be a short story at first!? Ideas born from an online drinking party

Yadorigi:First of all, great work on the writing! Cheers!

Igarashi:Cheers!

Yadorigi:Writing together was tough, but it was a lot of fun.

Igarashi:At first, it felt like a casual 'let's do this together' kind of thing, didn't it?

Yadorigi:Exactly. We were having our usual online drinking party, and after we'd had quite a bit to drink, I was talking about the ZINE I'm releasing soon, and you said, 'I wanted to write something too,' didn't you, Igarashi-san?

Igarashi:I was interested in ZINEs to begin with and had been thinking I'd like to try one. But if I just said I wanted to do it alone, I wouldn't know what to do or how to go about it. Yadorigi-san, you were inviting outside writers, weren't you?

Yadorigi:That's right! But Igarashi-san, you're already a debut author, so I wondered if it was okay for someone like me to ask you.

Igarashi:No, no, I wanted to try it (laughs). So, from the conversation of 'let's do something together,' the idea came up of writing about the same event from each of our perspectives. 'There's a man's funeral, and his ex-wife and his same-sex partner are both there; it would be a compelling piece if written from each of their perspectives.' At that point, that was all we were thinking about.

Yadorigi:That's right. I had no idea how the story would turn out.

Igarashi:I imagined it would be a bittersweet short story if we wrote about each other's feelings. Then, when I read the first chapter you sent, Yadorigi-san, I thought, 'Wait, this has a continuation!?'

Yadorigi:Sorry for turning it into a serial on my own! As I was writing, I developed a desire to have the two perspectives intersect... (laughs).

Igarashi:Since the two characters shook hands, it felt like we started meeting to discuss what to do next. Based on that, we took turns writing the chapters.

A story that rolls along without a plot, the fun of a collaboration

Yadorigi:This time, we proceeded with the writing by discussing only the bare minimum settings without creating a plot, but Igarashi-san, wasn't it difficult to write?

Igarashi:When I write novels for work, I create a plot, but this time it was more of a hobby, like the two of us playing around, so I didn't feel it was that difficult. Rather, it was fun to reflect the ideas that came up while we were meeting one after another. It was hard, though.

Yadorigi:The closer we got to the end, the more I struggled because the settings we added later on made things inconsistent.

Igarashi:Exactly, there were so many times we had to go back and fix things, thinking, 'Wait, that's not right.' But that happens even when you have a plot, so it might not be that different. This time, there were ideas that only came up because you were there, Yukiki-san. Like the ending note, for example. That was something I hadn't thought of at all, and once the ending note appeared, the story really started rolling—or rather, it moved in a direction I hadn't anticipated.

Yadorigi:The settings I created were filled with my wishes for how I wanted things to go, and the scenes you wrote in response to those were incredibly good; I was truly happy.

Igarashi:That was truly the fun of co-writing. When you write alone, there's a limit to your ideas, isn't there? I'm sure many writers struggle to come up with ideas that go beyond their own experiences. But this time, I was inevitably placed in a situation where I had to incorporate someone else's ideas, and it was fun to write things I never would have thought of before. I wish I could incorporate this into my regular work... that's why I want us to debut as a unit.

Yadorigi:That's true, let's decide on a unit name! Since there are two of us, maybe something like 'Yuzu'!

Igarashi:(Laughs).

Yadorigi:Also, what I thought after writing together was that the characters' emotional movements were also fluid. I was writing from the perspective of a woman named Kanoko in this novel, and it wasn't until I read the perspective of Keita, which you were writing, that I learned about the suffering he had endured beyond what I had imagined. That changed Kanoko's reactions, which was an experience I had. That would be impossible if I were writing alone—to be surprised by the emotions of the characters in the story and have new reactions born from that.

Igarashi:I've always liked novels where people influence each other and the story rolls forward. Most novels might be like that, but I really love stories where people take unexpected actions. That's why in this novel, it was great that Kanoko-san and Keita influenced each other and changed. Especially Kanoko-san; at first, she had the impression of being an unpleasant woman, but by the end, she acts in a completely different way, doesn't she? I thought this was exactly what 'being influenced by others' meant, and it made the characters feel alive. If I had been writing alone, I might have ended up controlling it too much. But this time, the parts you were writing were uncontrollable.

Yadorigi:That's right. That one line from Kanoko that triggers the climax in the middle was something I asked you to write in the chapter you were in charge of.

Igarashi:When I heard that line during our meeting, I thought it was something I would never have thought of. And when I actually wrote it... it felt like, if someone said that to me, I would definitely say this back, and the story just kept rolling.

Yadorigi:It was like I was picking a fight (laughs).

Igarashi:That was definitely the interesting part of co-writing. It's a chemical reaction.

Beyond the suffering of people struggling under oppression

Yadorigi:There's a reason why Kanoko ended up divorcing Masaki... I intended to fully depict the inner life of a woman who lacks an altruistic spirit. But it was Keita who influenced Kanoko enough to change her. I think Kanoko was able to change because Keita was the kind of person who made her feel that way.

Igarashi:I said she was an unpleasant woman earlier, but it's not Kanoko-san's fault either. It's like her family environment, the roles women are forced to play in society, and various external factors made her like a hedgehog.

Yadorigi:That's the same for Keita, too. He just wants to be happy as a person, but society won't let him. So, I think they are two of a kind.

Igarashi:They are struggling because it's suffocating. Of course, they are human, so I don't think it's possible for them to say, 'I can live without worrying about anything starting tomorrow,' but in this work, I think it was good that we were able to give them a little liberation from oppression. ...Well, I think to myself, what a mean story to write, where the trigger for that liberation is the death of someone they love.

Yadorigi:But I think people can't grow... can't change, unless they experience some kind of great pain.

Igarashi:That's true. I hope that people who read this work don't just realize things after losing something truly precious, but gain some kind of realization by reading this work. That way, they might be able to avoid having major regrets in the real world.

Yadorigi:It's great that when you read a novel, you can gain similar realizations and growth to the characters by experiencing their lives vicariously.

Igarashi:I really think so.

Yadorigi:…It would be nice if we could write something together again.

Igarashi:Yeah, I'd love to. If we win an award with this work, we'll likely have to add some new content, so I wonder what we should do after that.

Yadorigi:You're already assuming we'll win, aren't you? (laughs) I would like to try my hand at a mystery! Something where you can enjoy the perspectives of the perpetrator and the victim alternately.

Igarashi:It would be interesting if we could flip that halfway through the story. I often think about the reversal of perpetrator and victim roles. However, if we were to handle this theme, it's tricky because it could lead to misinterpretations depending on how it's depicted. But, because it's difficult, I want to take on the challenge while being conscious of maintaining a flat perspective.

Yadorigi:That's true. Precisely because we are a male-female unit, I don't think our perspectives will be biased, and we might be able to create a flat and fair work. That might be one of the advantages of co-writing. Anyway, I'm excited because it feels like we could do so many things! …Ah, I hope we win!

Igarashi:For now, let's take a break from this work until the interim results are announced, and think about ideas for the next work or a unit name.

Yadorigi:Right, a unit name! Something like 'Yuzu'!

Igarashi:Let's move away from Yuzu and pick a name that's a bit stronger when searched! (laughs)

The two of them continued their post-work celebration until late into the night...

So, you can read the full story of 'The Him I Loved, The Him Who Loved Me,' written by Yuki Yadorigi and Dai Igarashi, from the magazine below. We are aiming to win in the romance novel category of the Creative Awards, so if you think it's 'good,' we would be happy if you could give it a 'Like.' We are also waiting for your feedback!!