The Kardashians are the most omnipresent family in America, but that also requires them to be the most manufactured. Their reality television show is revealing, but it is of course controlled by them as well. Their insanely popular apps are a mirage.

For being some of the most famous people on earth, the Kardashians are unnaturally good at controlling the flow of information that filters through media and onto us. Rob Kardashian did not really disappear, but the celebrity press is indebted to the Kardashians and thus had to play along as if he did.

All of this is to say that video like the clip below is rare and gripping. Shot by Complex Style news editor Karizza Sanchez (see update below), it shows Kim and North goofing off before heading to Kanye West’s showing at Fashion Week. The interaction, though inherently performative, is plainly sweet and normal, which makes the actual reality that follows it—the two stepping into a gaping maw of flashbulbs and chattering—feel like being dropped into cold water.

UPDATE (6:30 p.m) Turns out this video is from Kim’s app, which, uh, complicates my thesis slightly! In any event, good video.

Contact the author at jordan@gawker.com.