"Oh Pakjira" The beautiful bride-to-be, accompanied by close friends, "Ning Panita" and "Ae Pornthip" came to update on the wedding preparations, where all the organizers are friends. They shared the beginnings of their close friendship, which led Ning to feel guilty toward Ae to this day because she once believed gossip. Ae Pornthip opened up about her lung cancer treatment journey, overcoming it with support from family and friends, on the "Kuy Zaap Show" program on One31 channel, hosted by "DJ Puttichai" and "Benz Pornchita" as MCs.
"Ae, you rarely appear on shows or in the media, right?"
Ae: Very rarely. Usually, we have to have a product or payment to go on (laughs). Just kidding.
Ning: I hardly go out anywhere either.
Is your husband protective?
Ae: I like staying home, and since the house is far, going out and coming back is tiring.
Who convinced you to come on the show?
Ae: I actually came because of P'Oh.
Oh: But I came because of Ae and Ning (laughs), and also Khun Som, feeling obliged to come.
How is the wedding preparation going?
Oh: The invitations are almost done, just waiting to distribute them. Everything is about 80 percent ready, just waiting for the date. The invitations will probably be delivered after Nadet and Yaya’s—they’re going to the same shop (laughs).
Who will be the MCs at the event?
Oh: The three gentlemen—P’Por, P’Willy, and Art, friends from the cooking show.
Who caused the most trouble over the outfits? Ae’s husband?
Ae: He tells people Ae is the one who’s fussy about things, but actually not. On the day of trying on the groomsmen’s suits, we just measured and finished, but P’Por wasn’t like that. Ae told him he had to dress formally like everyone else, and that was it. But no, he insisted he must stand out, wanting bell-bottom pants in Korean style.
Oh: Ae told me because I took two others along. His wife took him because he said he wouldn’t come, that Ae had to go to the hospital and he’d go with Ae. That day, I took Art and P’Willy; no problem with gossip. P’Por came for 3 hours to get fitted for the groom's suit. Nine people went that day; less than 2 hours, they thought he was the groom.
Did measuring for the suit take less than half an hour?
Ae: They tried on suits from the entire shop, not enough, fabrics here and there. They wanted high-waist pants, then a Mandarin collar; that was enough. Por didn’t want to wear a necktie either, but I said no, you’re the MC and can’t wear a Mandarin collar with a tie.
Oh: The tailor said P’Por had to wear a Mandarin collar because the suit was tight with lots of accessories, long and snug, so the Mandarin collar was necessary. Otherwise, it would be too tight. I told Beer to wear a white suit so everyone would recognize him as the groom because everyone else’s suits are tight.
Ning: P’Por is very dedicated. Everyone is dedicated to this event, giving their all for Oh. You get what I mean?
Oh: Not really. Art and P’Willy followed Por’s style and asked, “Really?” (laughs). P’Willy couldn’t stand it and called to scold, "What are you wearing?"
Ae: Korean style, bell-bottoms, slightly oversized suits.
Oh: P’Willy said he couldn’t wear that, being Western, he’d look like a bear. That’s when they knew it was Korean style.
Did the bride just pick the wedding venue and leave everything else to friends?
Ae: Don’t say friends, just Ning alone.
Oh: Ning is also getting married.
Ning: Everyone helps, including Khun Hana and Khun Oo. Everyone pitches in ideas, but everyone prefers to take it slow and say whatever they want. But Oh is similar, and that doesn’t work. Decisions have to be made firmly; everyone would just keep hesitating, so we had to push.
Oh: She’s the queen bee.
Ning: We try to keep up and push. Wedding planning isn’t easy.
What did Ning handle?
Oh: Almost everything.
Ae: Only the wedding day left (laughs).
Oh: If Ning wears a wedding dress, she’ll upstage Beer (laughs).
Ten bridesmaids together—isn’t it chaotic?
Ning: We have to schedule, check who can come, and keep reminding those who haven’t responded. We call behind the scenes to make sure they reply in the group chat. When the time comes, no one can blame me. It’s clear.
Do all ten wear the same dress?
Ning: That’s another complication. At first, May and Ae said not to use the same fabric, but to use the same color because body shapes differ. We worried if the fabric was too stiff, Ae might fit, Ning might fit, but others with different figures wouldn’t. So we chose the same color but different styles. We worried about Guitar’s figure.
Oh: Forgot Guitar is the only plus-size one (laughs).
Ning: Knowing our friends’ shapes, I talked to the shop about sketching designs in each person’s style first. I sent everyone’s Instagram to the shop to get sketches before we see them. Then we could pick what we wanted from the sketches, making it easier.
Oh: That was quick, unlike Por.
Ae: Not like him (laughs).
Oh: Por even chose the fabric pattern (laughs).
How is Ning’s dress?
Ning: Mine has a slit because I’m the shortest in the group, not revealing, just at the hips. I’m short, and my friends are tall, so the slit makes me look taller. Ae worried about the neckline being too tight.
Ae: I have broad shoulders. If too covered, I feel short. Covered up, my arms look unusually small. I have to wear it open like this.
Ning: For Guitar, anything goes as long as it’s loose and hides her figure. Khun Hana needs to hide her hips and cover them. May can’t show skin but needs a little detail.
Why no revealing outfits?
Ning: Her boyfriend is protective.
Oh: Otherwise, it’ll be on "Hon Krasae" show (laughs). May can show a little; she’ll reveal it at the event (laughs).
Is there a maid of honor?
Oh: No, her mother took her to try on dresses and help. It should be shaping up now.
Will there be a hen night?
Ae: I want one very much.
Why not have one?
Ning: How could we? We really want to.
Oh: Hen nights usually have handsome, muscular men, right? We want that too, but everyone’s husbands are very much present.
Ning: Don’t say the husbands are so present. We don’t dare to organize one out of respect and consideration for P’Por and P’Noom. P’Por is very protective of Ae. We tried inviting Ae to tennis and sent pictures of the coach to Por to see if Ae could play with him. No, but maybe with an older female coach. May is the same; if we had a hen night with men, it’d be a scandal for the group.
Oh: Not allowed because the boyfriends won’t permit. Beer is protective too. But I have one planned with Khun Som, though we won’t call it a hen night because Beer will come along.
Is P’Por so protective that he even dreams about it?
Ning: P’Por has only recently trusted us to let Ae come with us, even though we’ve known each other for over ten years.
Oh: He’s protective because he loves his wife.
Do you track her with GPS?
Ae: Nowadays, he checks where I am to see if I’m really there.
I heard he even dreams that his wife is with someone else?
Ae: He dreams I’m with someone else, not just once but many times. I told him, "What do you want me to do?" Then he gets mad at me when he wakes up. It’s not right.
Oh: He loves his wife but tends to overthink. He said he dreams often that Ae is with someone else. I told him, "You’re crazy" (laughs). He knows his wife, but maybe because she’s beautiful, his imagination runs wild. But Ae is very proper.
Ning: That’s why now she plans for their son to follow her everywhere, even parties.
Oh: Their son is adorable and likes to go everywhere.
Did Dad really send you to watch over Mom, Nong Pao?
Nong Pao: Not true.
Has P’Por had a vasectomy?
Ae: Yes, but it’s not effective yet. He needs to rest. Actually, he had it done a long time ago but was afraid of complications. We know tuition is expensive, two children are enough. It was a good timing for him to take a break and have the procedure, so he’s relieved.
You truly became close only in the last four years. What brought you together and made you close?
Oh: It’s probably been more than four years.
Ae: P’Oh and Ae have worked together for 7-8 years. Ning for over ten years.
Oh: Actually, we got close because of our children, whose births were around the same time. When one got close to another, they brought others along. It became a mom group.
Ning: We were scattered at first, then pulled together into this group.
Oh: Eventually stabilizing into this mom group.
Ning: The turning point was when I had problems during COVID and slightly before. That led to gathering everyone to chat, eat, and drink online, which brought us closer.
You and Ae worked together for over ten years but weren’t close?
Oh: Not close. I often met Ning but wasn’t close. Having children brought us close. Ning seems tough (laughs). This group feels like family, not just ordinary friends. I feel it’s family.
Ning: We open up about everything, even things we don’t want outsiders to know, but we dare to share with this group.
You and Ae hosted together but weren’t close?
Oh: She seems tough, right? (laughs)
I heard Ning still feels guilty toward Ae?
Ning: Yes, when we became close, I often told Ae I felt guilty about some things—why I listened to certain things without asking her side, believed some things. But once really close, everything I heard was opposite, negative, and not true at all. We worked together 5-6 years but kept some distance, unlike with Benz, whom I talked to about everything. Ae was just a colleague.
Ae: I didn’t know or feel anything. After work, I just went home. I was pregnant with Pao then.
Oh: Who gossiped?
Ning: You know. Stop pretending on the show.
Oh: Oh (laughs). Just got caught, huh?
Ning: Don’t accidentally reveal names. It started there. We realized Ae listens to everything and is sensitive. In our group, if we talk, we consider Ae a lot because she’s sensitive, worries about whether friends like what she does, and is emotionally delicate.
Ning has many problems and friends have to help. Do you consult these two about your heaviest issue, family problems?
Ning: Actually, I talk to the whole group, but mostly to P’Oh because our kids are close in age and I don’t get much comfort elsewhere.
Oh: I like to scold (laughs). I’m straightforward, but I feel I can be direct with Ning. I’m straightforward with everyone, but Ning is sensitive, fragile, and tends to get dramatic and emotional. Compared to Ae, who’s delicate but doesn’t give us reasons to intervene, Ning often gives me reasons to scold her.
Ning: She scolds me to be strong, to keep going, not to care. She scolds me to be tough, not to say I’m wrong. When she scolds me, I improve because I feel she’s sincere. But being scolded hurts, so I look for a sponge to absorb it and call Ae, who is softer, understands, listens, and is willing to adjust, but I also want hugs.
Oh: Ning wants hugs and love, which she gets from Ae.
Ning: I go to Hana.
Ae has had the cancer removed, but recent health checks still bring anxiety?
Ae: Every check-up is nerve-wracking. The good news is I caught it early. After removal, no further treatment was needed, but it’s not 100 percent clear—about 90 percent. I need to be checked every six months for five years. If nothing happens, then it’s 100 percent clear.
How was your mental state upon diagnosis?
Ae: Terrible. Shocked. Didn’t know what to say or who to listen to. It felt like the world collapsed. I couldn’t speak, just cried. I found out on P’May’s birthday last year and told her.
Oh: Everyone cried.
Ning: Her spirit was strong to attend the event even though she learned in the morning.
Ae: At first, I didn’t want to go, but P’Por told me not to be alone because I’d overthink. He told me to meet friends and have fun, so I went, but I still felt guilty since it was a birthday party.
Ning: I have many problems but don’t feel guilty.
Oh: You should feel guilty sometimes.
Ning: I have good friends (laughs).
Did Ning and Oh support Ae on her surgery day?
Ae: Yes, I couldn’t have managed without good friends’ support. Being alone was depressing and mentally exhausting. I worried about my child and P’Por. I was very stressed.
Are you okay now?
Ae: I’m better now, but every check-up brings back fear. P’Por can’t sleep before them.
Ning: But P’Por is strong; he doesn’t show it. He talks about everything normally, acting like nothing’s wrong.
Oh: He knows his wife well.
Ae: He’s the strongest. Without him, I don’t know how I’d live. He’s the head of the family, a very good husband.
Among these three, who is the most sensitive?
Oh: The one who fusses the most is Ning. She tries to do a lot for others but gets hurt herself.
Ning: No, it started with Ae’s birthday. May suggested making a memorable gift for our group—a framed picture with all of us to hang at home. That was May’s idea. I did it for Ae. On May’s birthday, May wanted a large picture of herself because of poor eyesight, but Oh either read the group chat or not and said no one wanted the picture.
Oh: Honestly, some talked among themselves that no one wanted a picture because they didn’t know where to put it. I and Hana said, "Don’t bring it to me; it’s too big." But May said she wanted a large picture because of her eyesight. I’m straightforward.
Ae: Oh wrote that in the group.
Ning: Don’t make the picture; no one wants it.
Did you cry?
Oh: I didn’t say it that harshly (laughs).
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