i heard this phrase in an anime and i'm not sure what it means:
kono kurai shinai to, kowakute oite oke nai yo.
the english subtitles said "i need to do that because you're so scary."
i understand the first part which says, "if i don't do this" it uses the conditional "to".
what i am having trouble unraveling is the second part. i know kowai means scary, and kowakute is the te-form of the adjective. i know that te oku means "to prepare for the future". but what confuses me is the phrase of oiteoku. i know that okenai is just the potential form of oku saying that "i can't do it in advance" but i don't understand what kowakute oite oke nai yo means.
it seems to me that kowakute oku by itself means "preparing to be scared"? but then adding on oke nai (which means cannot do in advance) so that the character is saying that he can't prepare to be scared? can someone help me understand this? thanks!