Villain! No way would I care to be relegated to the role of an "Also Ran." Villains are also often self-directed, goal-oriented, go-getters who will stop at nothing to get what they want.

Sounds perfect!

No hesitation- I choose Villan.
First thing I would do as a villan is kill off the second male lead to put him out of his misery. We all know the 2ML is doomed for life anyways so this is an act of compassion.

I'm going to exagerate by saying that the choice is between a nice looser and a bad looser.
[please note that I consider there is much more to life than getting the girl, so 2ML only looses if he obstinates]
Unless the drama is multi-couples, 2ML is an accessory for the OTP. While a villain can be a character with personnal (if not unique nor original) interests in power or money. Also, prior his due demise the villain enjoy a few successes. Better to rise and fall than just fall for the plot !

Point of clarification: the second male lead is often a villain.
So by default, I vote BOTH even though I can't vote both.

Ooooh, tempting! If I’m going the villain route, I’d want to be of the assassin variety - tragic backstory, incredible skills, cool moves, great style - y’all know the type. Maybe a hint of a redemption arc possibility that never quite comes to fruition because I keep making vengeful choices. Delicious.

On the other hand, SMLs are not all bad! They aren’t all brothers with mistaken identities; look at Prince Flight Attendant from King the Land, or John the Chef from Love is for Suckers! The trick is to avoid love triangles, so if I could go off and have my own little beautiful side romance (that might even be more appealing than the main romance), what’s not to love?

This might be the toughest one of these choices yet. I haven’t even voted yet hahaha!

Okay, whom to BE ... I thought it was whom I would choose, which is much easier.
Being the second male lead is often a horrible life, being such a totally nice person and then ending up having mostly your value weighed in how jealous you can make the ML , and your ability to keep him on his toes.
I still think I would prefer that. Maybe, someday I would meet a much cuter woman, a beanie with her head screwed on the right way, who would say "Tsundere? No-kay! I want the handsome, kind, helpful and maybe even rich other guy, than you!"

Is it holiday fatigue talking? I don’t want to have to do all the hard thinking that comes with being a villain and always, always working to strategize my dastardly plans. And then having to put them in action? Forget it! I’ll take my chances with SML and dream optimistically while I take a nap 🥱

I would rather be the second male lead who is also the villain like Byeon Woo-seok in Strong Girl Nam-soon and what I hope Lee Sang-yi in My Demon becomes. That way, viewers would still love me and defend me even when I do evil things like kill other characters.

This was a tough decision for me, but despite my aversion to love triangles, I’m going with the SML. The villain by definition must be the bad guy — no matter how charming or charismatic, he’s the antagonist who will be brought down at the end. (Unless we’re in an antihero drama.) The SML can be all kinds of characters — supportive bestie, comic relief, industry expert, long-lost friend, voice of reason. He’s also less likely to be suffering from the required main character trauma. The key would be extricating myself from any doomed love lines with the FL and living my best spotlight-adjacent life.

Lol, sometimes they're the same thing 😂 But for real, at least a SML has a chance at a happy ending with someone who will truly appreciate him! And if not then, there will always be Beanies ready to lend support 😉

Villain!

Firstly, I do not want to be male (the prompt does not state the gender of the villain, so I guess I can be a female villain). I like males, I just would not like to be one.

Secondly, the female villains are often slightly better styled than the boring, often frumpy play-by-the-book-girls (I am thinking of Baek Sung Mi in Taxi Driver, Jung Sun Ah in Devil Judge or Park Jeon Yin in The Glory).

Thirdly, villains are hands down the more interesting and charismatic characters, if not the only watchable ones (like Ryu Shi Oh in SGNS).

Villain sounds juicier than a SML. They get to have more fun, usually intelligent to do their nefarious deeds, has the best clothes and stuffs money can buy. Also they can get as much screen time as the ML/FL.
SML gets mopey and fights with the ML for the FL's affection. Villain gets to fight for something more!

I picked being the villain. Why? Inasmuch as the SL is a good choice, I must say that I want to have my own story despite being the SL. Hence I can't have my second lead role written by the hands of a kdrama writer. But if the writer has a penchant for writing a SL like Kim Seon-ho's Han Ji-pyeong, then, i might be willing to consider being a SL.

Beyond this, being second lead comes with a lot of drama. At the end of it all, I'm a clutch used to highlight the fact that the ML is a better choice even though he was the greatest definition of arrogant, jerk and selfish.

Now to crown it all, the last thing I want is to be both villain and SL which I must say is a regular in KDrama world.

However, as a villain. I don't have to bother about losing on the male lead because he's the lead. I'm not losing on a personal level, I'm simply losing because it is my time to lose and there's no other loss to lose.

I tied the vote with 2nd lead :D I wouldn't mind being the underdog.

Honestly, most Nice! Guy! second male leads are the real villain. I'd much rather be a full-throated, honest, upfront kind of villain. A delicious, loud, Lex Luthor villain, "Yes I AM the villain of the story!"

I dont have a choice I have always been the villain. im not in dramas only bc thedrama villains will get scared and quit

Oh this is another hard one! The reason I chose second lead is just cause I don't like attention haha. I'm not even a main character in my own life.

Being the villian just takes too much time and effort haha
But there definitely is an appeal because villians are allowed to be outspoken or go off the beaten path or just go for what they want and that is VERY appealing.

2ML
(even though the actual poll thingy doesn't seem to be working for me)

2ML could be ANYTHING, anything at all ! Hide in the background, steal the scene. Comic relief, villain, fight for the girl, find a love of his own. The possibilities are endless and the expectations so much lower.

Oh noooo.
The 2nd male leads are winning!🫣

Villians unite!
We must not loose this war!
We’re tired of losing.
We cannot be defeated by the 2nd male lead. It’s not possible 😡

Villain! In kdramaland, not in real life. I’m thirty and haven’t gotten my driver’s license yet because it’s the only way I could potentially kill someone. But in kdramaland, villains get the best wardrobe, best monologues and best everything. The Campy Villain is who I aspire to be. Yes I’ll tell the hero all about my plan to take over the world because who else will appreciate my brilliance??

Perhaps my life expectancy will be cut short or maybe I’ll go to jail, it doesn’t matter as I’ll get to live my wildest fantasies! And if I do go to jail, this is kdramaland baby, so all prisons will be as wholesome and sweet as the one in PRISON PLAYBOOK. I fail to see any cons…

Come one, being second male lead sucks - you're a literal plot device with little to no life or purpose outside of moving main plot and/or OTP romance. Why going through such disrespect and suffering for barely any reward in the end when you can be a fun-having baddie? Also you're very likely to be loaded, powerful and well dressed. I'm gonna look fabulous as a rich bitch)))

Villain, hands down. Villains have more complex and interesting personalities, with a greater potential for character development. Evil people can change and become less evil, while SMLs (unless they are also the villains) usually just keep being nice. Even if I'm inclined to do terrible things, I'd want to have the agency to command my own thoughts and actions, rather than be a SML, whose self-fulfillment usually rests upon the actions and decisions of the FL.

Villain. Without a second thought. Designer clothes, expensive cars, huge office building, villa homes, both with roomful of assistants to lord over.

No, no don't even remind me of Mad Dog villain in Blind.

This is soooo disheartening. Some of my fave Beanies are only lovelies in disguise. Way to find out about all ya Lex Luthor wannabes. Just kill me now.

2L or Villian. Either one, but they have to have a match. Villains should have a “gun moll” . Especially a successful villain, woman like successful men, even if they are bad boys.

2L should not be in competition for FL’s affections , he should have a suitable partner .

Villain for me. No morals, no conscience, pure selfishness, say what you want, do what you want. Maybe after all the hedonism get shot at the end, but even that's fine as it stops you getting a belated attack of remorse.

I'm thinking I'd rather be the SML because then, you get another chance at winning someone's heart (after the tears are over) whereas the villian usually ends up shorting himself of his life by either getting killed or getting sent to a prison for a long long time. Do you live the thrilling life first and end up with nothing or be patient and your chance will come?

“No Capes!”
Edna from The Incredibles
But that only applies to heroes.
No such rule exist for Villains.
Be a Villain - wear a fancy cape.

Villain over SML any day. Especially if I get to have the cooler fits.

Team Villain Hwaiting! Vote for your team pali pali!!