It has no romance, is mostly political, and has a villainous male lead... the crowd here only loves fluffy, cookie-cutter…
Oooh, okay. I'll check it out. As for dramas/movies where the 2nd lead gets the girl, it's not common, but it's happened in a few daily dramas I've watched: The Promise, Cruel Temptation, Elegant Empire, Glass Mask, and Women's Room. So far. I'll have to see what non-daily dramas had the 2nd ML get the FL.
It has no romance, is mostly political, and has a villainous male lead... the crowd here only loves fluffy, cookie-cutter…
To me "cookie-cutter" romances are very simple and cliche: naive, sweet FL who's always poor gets with a harsh, cold, rich ML. He's always a businessman or a chaebol heir for some reason, and she's so clueless to the point of childishness. She can't ever stand up for herself (and if she does, according to MDL, she is the WORST PERSON EVER!!!!), she's dependent on others, and he's never loved anyone before. Insert the typical, jealous and scheming 2nd FL who always wears short clothes and is a massive bully to the FL because she likes the ML. As for the 2nd ML it depends. He's usually a villain, but sometimes he's a good guy who just happens to get unlucky by the end. Sometimes the 2nd ML wins, sometimes he doesn't. And EVERYTHING is black & white. Zero nuance, everyone has to be good or bad and NO in between!!! Especially for the FL!
Oh, also: insert dramatic tropes: evil MIL (in damn near every k-drama I've watched, regardless of genre/length), rooftop apartments, White Truck of Doom, a (usually forced) love triangle, the first kiss filmed from 30+ angles and replayed at least 5 times, occasionally a serious disease for angst that gets cured (or not), rich vs. poor (again, the FL *MUST* BE POOR!!!), random moments of forced proximity with a ballad playing in the background, really tasty food, a birth secret (occasionally), scenes by the Han River for aesthetics, and a Happily Ever After ending! Or not. It depends.
But maybe audiences are finally changing. I apologize for the length, this was, in fact, written with some passion in it.
K-Drama 
Insert the typical, jealous and scheming 2nd FL who always wears short clothes and is a massive bully to the FL because she likes the ML. As for the 2nd ML it depends. He's usually a villain, but sometimes he's a good guy who just happens to get unlucky by the end. Sometimes the 2nd ML wins, sometimes he doesn't. And EVERYTHING is black & white. Zero nuance, everyone has to be good or bad and NO in between!!! Especially for the FL!
Oh, also: insert dramatic tropes: evil MIL (in damn near every k-drama I've watched, regardless of genre/length), rooftop apartments, White Truck of Doom, a (usually forced) love triangle, the first kiss filmed from 30+ angles and replayed at least 5 times, occasionally a serious disease for angst that gets cured (or not), rich vs. poor (again, the FL *MUST* BE POOR!!!), random moments of forced proximity with a ballad playing in the background, really tasty food, a birth secret (occasionally), scenes by the Han River for aesthetics, and a Happily Ever After ending! Or not. It depends.
But maybe audiences are finally changing. I apologize for the length, this was, in fact, written with some passion in it.